


all we are is a bittersweet sundown

by loupancake



Series: under the same sky entwined with one destiny [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: (and they don't know the other's pining? they don't know what the other wants? sad.), AU, Action Packed Adventure!, Fantasy AU, Fluff and Angst, Harry's trying to delay mourning, It's just a wild ride, Kissing, Listen there's a yacht but it's one of those small ones, Look I promise this will end on a good note. Promise!, M/M, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Royal Engagement, There's a lil bit of grinding at some point but it won't lead to anything promise, There's a tiny blurb of a zayn pov somewhere but it's actually kind of important !, Weapons (like a sword because this is so very fantasy-esque), also the prologue is a series of letters between H and L, drowning/near death experience, human!Louis, mermaid au, merman!harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-05-19 23:26:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 101,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5984299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loupancake/pseuds/loupancake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the death of Harry's father, the merman king of the Atlantic Ocean, Harry has to step up and prove his strength to be the next true king. With the company of Louis, who he's been writing letters to for three long months, they embark on a quest throughout all the oceans before the last of the late king's magic runs out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the sequel, or the start of it at least. The prologue's just going to be a few messages exchanged between Harry and Louis during the three months they've been apart. The other chapters will all come in due time, promise!
> 
> -
> 
> [Series Post {tumblr}](http://wlwmermald.tumblr.com/post/156720987927/under-the-same-sky-entwined-with-one-destiny)  
> [Tumblr](http://wlwmermald.tumblr.com) | [Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/v4leeeee/playlist/4XeU7sCBEfWgGR9dmBzk21)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penpals bring worlds together.

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**Messages in a Bottle**

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_**4 June**_ (one week after Harry and Louis saw the purple sunrise together) 

> _Dear Harry,_
> 
> _This is a message in a bottle. You told me we could keep in touch in this way. I haven't written anything longhand in a long time. I only really do so when I care about the other person a lot. I hope my small writing doesn't smudge when you read this in the water. Wouldn't that suck?_
> 
> _When is your birthday? I'd like to know. Maybe something can be arranged for when your birthday comes along. Who knows. Maybe I'll get you a new pair of shoes. Or little boats. Whatever you prefer to call them still. That was the first endearing moment about you, when you called them little boats. I don't think I'll ever forget that._
> 
> _You said that you were now going to be busy. What is it exactly that you're doing? I hope it's not too tedious._
> 
> _I'm going to make an effort to fill up the entire page. Bear with me._
> 
> _Did you know that people on land, here, gather tinier bottles and fill them up with sand and minuscule shells? They top it off with a corkscrew and a stringy rope to add to the aesthetic of it all—did I use that word right? Who knows. Zayn says it a lot. He's a tattoo artist and an art person all together. That's where all my tattoos come from (you know, the markings on my arms. I don’t think you noticed). Zayn. He's my best friend. I think I told you that already._
> 
> _Zayn's worse than me. He says a lot about how he hates seeing fish struggle in nets or on hooks. His parents own a huge fishing company (I know, I know, you hate that) and they pretty much go out on their large fishing boats a lot and capture bunches of fish in huge nets. Zayn hates it. I think he's decided to go his own way and become an anti-fishing person, too. His parents bought him a tiny yacht, too. They're fucking loaded. Also, a yacht is like a boat, but much classier and people can sleep and eat in them. I might have to snag the yacht one of these days so I can come see you out in the sea. Yeah! There's an idea!_
> 
> _I'm actually making an effort not to write shorthand, with abbreviations, or anything of the like. I forget I'm pretty literate until I actually read or write. Do you guys read? Have you read? Do you have books from sunken ships? I feel like you'd be the person to steal them if you found them. Anyways, I don't read too much myself. Nothing really interests me anymore. Literature's not so original nowadays._
> 
> _What are the instruments in your world? You did say you have music. I'd like to know more. I can't imagine what music down there must sound like._
> 
> _Now that I'm not working for a seafood restaurant anymore, I'm going to try to get a job at the surfboard shack right on the beach. They sell surfboards and other swimming merchandise. It's run by this nice old man named Carl. I've known him for as long as I can remember. He kind of looks like a skeleton. He's super nice but super stubborn._
> 
> _Thinking of you, wherever you are. It's been a week and I genuinely miss you. Is that weird? I've only met you that one time. I hope you are also enjoying your world, that you don't feel as empty as you used to._
> 
> _ Sincerely,  
>  _ _ Louis Tomlinson _
> 
> _ P.S. _
> 
> _ My birthday is December 24. I'll be turning 25 this year. I'm old oldy old. :( _

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

**_11_ ** _**June** _      

> _Dear Louis,_
> 
> _I know what a message in a bottle is, silly! I’m quite positive I was the one who gave you the suggestion in the first place. The ink did start to bleed a little bit once water hit the parchment, but I could still read what you wrote. This, in turn, is octopus ink. Water does not make it smudge or bleed out. This bad bit of parchment is also taken from a drawing pad I found from the Titanic ruins once a few years ago. I guess that’s why the parchment isn’t so white like yours, but a more yellow._
> 
> _You have no idea how ecstatic I was when Jackie and Evan delivered the bottle to me. I couldn’t believe it. I was beginning to think you were a dream, but this message only proved that you were far too real, that everything that happened was far too real. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you already._
> 
> _My birthday is on the first of February. I myself am twenty-two. Twenty-four isn’t old, and neither is twenty-five! Don’t worry, Lou. I’d like to spend my birthday with you very much. I’d also like to spend yours with you. Unfortunately, I won’t be here during the winter months. Once the icy winter hits, we migrate over to the southern part of the Atlantic. We have a winter palace there. Incidentally, it could also be called a summer palace since it is summer over there. The palace there is in the waters of the coast of Montevideo, Uruguay. If you can take a vacation and head over, maybe we can do something for our birthdays! Actually, I’ll give you an early present. I don’t know what, or when, but it’ll have to do._
> 
> _Right now, suitors are visiting my sister and I. At first, it was because my parents had gone against my wishes of marrying someone I wanted to marry. Like, I want to choose, do you see? Marry the person I end up falling in love with. They had said I could ages ago and had gone back to, well, saying I’d have to marry someone with a good name. Then, I reminded them of what they promised me. I guess the Hand of the king had been insistent that going against old traditions would set a bad impression upon everyone in the kingdom. Now, they most definitely are letting my sister and I marry for love because they decided to not listen to the Hand. Anyways, we’re still getting suitors. That was the only catch. If we don’t like any of them, we can be free to marry who we wish whenever we want to. So now, it’s more of a hassle, getting all the royals and nobility out of the way. At least we know it’ll end soon._
> 
> _We’re planning a banquet soon which is accompanied by a concert. Nobility are invited from all over the Atlantic. It’ll be a lot of fun. This is what being royal is like. Formal events, plans for the future, courtesies here and there that I secretly couldn’t care less about. I like talking to you already because I can tell you anything I want and know I won’t get scolded for it. I don’t exactly have the freedom to express what I want all the time. The whole marriage thing was the only thing I really ever asked for. Thankfully, everything seems to be working out and the rest I can just deal with easily._
> 
> _I don’t understand. Why would people buy tiny bottles filled with sand and small shells? Why don’t they just go to the beach and experience the real thing right then and there? Why don’t they fill the bottles up themselves? Wouldn’t that save them money? Also, I think your friend, Zayn, sounds absolutely fantastic. I do remember your tattoos! There was just a million other things that had my attention as you may remember. Your eyes were one of them. They’re the colors of the sea itself, blue and some green. They’re quite captivating._
> 
> _What are your tattoos individually? I want to know._
> 
> _Lou, I think you write perfectly. I actually have a favorite book. It had fallen off a boat some years ago. It is called ‘The Prince and the Pauper’. Some of it is difficult to understand since it takes place in your world, but for the most part, I understood that a prince and a pauper switch lives since they are identical in appearance. How could I of all people not love this story? I adore it. Even more so now, actually. I feel like ever since I met you, I feel like I understand this story a little more than before. Actually, I have a confession to make. It’s the only book I’ve read. Niall, my best friend, reads the most books. HE tells me about them. I also gave him the tub of worms you gave me._
> 
> _Music instruments. Well, where do I begin? Some are actually from you guys. They’ve fallen into the ocean here and there throughout the years. We have coral tubes, maracas, small clam shells (these are fun. we snap them on our hands and they make click sounds), large clam shells as drums, the bass fish (they really like being played? their bellies make deep sounds when we tap them), rock drums, tambourines, flutes, harps, we utilize bubbles as music, sometimes if we come across chains, we tie them up to instruments or animals to add some flare. There’s a lot. Oh! and blowfish are incredible at playing wind instruments. Oh, and octopi tie their tentacles together to create their own makeshift string instruments for us or other fish to play. We’re all very musical since we can’t sing._
> 
> _I’m glad! I think I know what surfboard shack you’re talking about, actually? Is it that tiny square building on the other side of the beach? That’s very approved on my part. I quite like this job for you. This means you’ll be at the beach even more still. The better for me to surprise you. But you don’t be mean about Carl, calling him a skeleton. That’s rude._
> 
> _Oh, Louis, I miss you, too. I’m also thinking of you. I know we’re both dissatisfied with our lives—maybe less than before, but still, maybe it’s still there. We pray for our sorrows to end, and I feel they will in due time. Our hearts will blend when we find comfort in our worlds or each others’ worlds when that time comes. I know it._
> 
> _Hope all is well,  
>  _ _\- H._

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_**18 June** _      

> _Dear Harry,_
> 
> _Listen, if you’re going to literally write me essays and make me feel terrible, I’m going to have to step up my game. Don’t be cheeky with me, I know you told me to send you a message in a bottle! I’m just stating it. We came up with the concept, after all, I’m pretty sure. I didn’t know you guys made use of octopus ink, too! That’s incredible. And yes, I can read what you write perfectly. You’ve been to the Titanic wreckage before? Christ, H,your life sounds far too incredible. Are you sure you want to be running up here when you can see all the shipwrecks you want from years past down thee? I’d love to see them one day, if I can. I think that’d be nice._
> 
> _I’d suggest scuba diving, but it’s not the same I don’t think, and I actually have faith that you guys have some sort of way for me to go down there just the same. But, if for some reason there’s no other way, well, I’ll just dive into the water with a bulky breathing tank. It’s alright._
> 
> _Jackie and Evan are the dolphins? That’s sweet. I like those names, like Iridesa and Marina’s names. By the way, they’re well taken care of. They're in a tank with a makeshift aquatic environment. I feed them every day. They boost my ego when I need it. I love those starfish. Although, I think they’ve recently begun to miss you, too. That’s something I have in common with starfish. Who would’ve thought?_
> 
> _You write so proper, don’t be snooty. I’m teasing. I guess your birthday’s already passed, then. Happy late birthday, too, if you’ll take it._
> 
> _Has there been a royal or noble you’ve come to like so far? I want to know! I think it’s lovely you want to marry someone you’d want to love rather than having an arranged marriage. Happy your parents are all for it, too. It’s exciting news! You’re not confined to old traditions anymore. I can sense something, though. Just by reading what you’ve written. I can sense you’re going to change things for the better. I’m already proud of you and nothing’s happened. Is that weird? Probably is._
> 
> _What’s the banquet for? I bet you it’ll be nice, or at least the concert will be nice. Did it already happen? Will you be performing? I wish I could see you play! You sing very well, too. Lovely, really, have such a rich voice. If you sang, you’d blow them all away. I bet if you tried to do so in your merfolk language, you’d somehow be able to make it work. Bring something that lovely and nice into your world. You should always be able to sing whenever and wherever you want if you want to._
> 
> _Ah, Harry, all good questions about tiny bottles filled with sand and shells. Unfortunately, the answer to this is far too simple that it makes me question everything. Humans are greedy. Humans are selfish. Humans are lazy. Humans are also very stupid. Trust me, I’m a human. A human who gets stupid tattoos when I’m bored. Anyways, speaking of tattoos, I’ve got a lot of them, Haz. I promise I’ll tell you all about them when we see each other again. It’ll be more fun that way. After all, you’d get to see them, too, while I blab and blab about why they don’t actually mean anything other than a select few. I can tell you now that I have a tattoo for my grandparents, a matching one with Zayn, my old band’s name tattooed on the front of my ankles, a triangle on my ankle, and just some stupid doodles to name a few. Then some others. And then some. You’d have to see for yourself!_
> 
> _‘The Prince and the Pauper’ is pretty old. Written by Mark Twain. Alright, I had to look that up because I know the story but have never read the actual story. I’m not so much a fan of old writings. Don’t read too much myself. Just your letters. Anyways, maybe if you stayed in the human world for a bit, experienced it properly, then you could reread it and understand it a little better. That’s just my shit excuse to get you back up here. Come back up here. Or take me down there. If there are any spells that’ll allow me to breathe underwater, you should definitely tell me as soon as possible._
> 
> _You gave your friend the worms? How could you?! Those were for you. I’m never getting you a present ever again._
> 
> _I’m joking. But tell me about your friends in the ocean. I’d like to know about them._
> 
> _Those… are so many instruments. What the fuck, Harry? You have to play something for me now! Are there underwater bands, too? Famous types? That sounds so incredible! I even want to try playing some of those._
> 
> _Why do you think the surfboard shack was my first job choice? The more I’m at the beach, the more chances I’ll have to see you when you decide to resurface out of random. Just not without me. I want to take you everywhere I possibly can… which isn’t a lot, but it’ll be new to you either way, so it could be enough. Honestly, though, Haz, I’d never say such a thing to an old man. I’m not that cruel to people who don’t deserve that. Especially the elderly. Especially Carl._
> 
> _How is it that you can write so well? I don’t know. I like how you word things. You’ve given me hope for the future. Whatever the future will be, that is. Only time will tell. I’ll step forward to realize that wish, for what we’re hoping for. I feel like I can’t get it out in words specifically but all I know is that it involves you being closer than you are to me now, and I closer to you. Although, these letters really, really do help. I kind of feel like you’re right here with me just by writing them._
> 
> _Write back soon,  
>  \- Louis._
> 
> _P.S._
> 
> _My sister, Lottie, was wondering where her clip and bobby pins are because she's so sure she had more than there was in her pack. Whoops._
> 
> _P.S.S._
> 
> _I have a pet, too, of my own. Her name is Abby. She's a maine coon cat. I don't know if you've ever seen a cat. They're soft. Abby's a bit pompous, though. Thinks she's entitled to everything whether it be when I'm awake or asleep. The whole world has to stop for her. She's actually a strange cat because she likes water. Most cats don't._

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_**25 June** _  

> _Dear Louis,_
> 
> _As long as you write, I'm happy. You could literally send me one letter or one word and I'd be content. Somehow, I'd still be able to answer right back. Happy you can read my letters fine. If you ever get down here for more than a couple of seconds, I'll take you to the shipwreck of Titanic. Even better, I'll take you to cooler seas farther up north where Vikings used to roam, when they found Ultima Thule. Longships would disappear underwater all the time, and boy, they have incredible stories of the past, too. Or, well, I don't know. Maybe you don't like history so much. I tend to find it fascinating. We always find stuff from you humans in the depths of the ocean, so thank your ancestors for that. It helped decorate my room._
> 
> _Did I not tell you my dolphins' names? Well, now you know. They quite like you, actually. Please send my hellos to Iridesa and Marina. I miss them, too, but I know they're being well taken care of. After all, you did get me up on a cliff on your own and made sure I was safe. I wonder what your cat looks like. I'd like to meet her someday. She sounds like Gemma sometimes. I'm kidding. She's actually kind. I'd tell her about you if I knew she wouldn't cut off my tail. Only Niall knows about you. That doesn't mean you should go on telling Zayn. Please do not._
> 
> _If you're wishing me a happy late birthday, then that means I get to wish you a happy early birthday. Endless happy birthdays._
> 
> _For your information, no, I have not come to consider any royals or nobles that've come my way yet. Gemma, either. I know she hates the idea maybe even more than I do. If she ever found someone as endearing as you who is a royal or noble, I'm sure she'd lie and say she didn't want to be with them solely for the reason that she doesn't want to be given choices like that. She really wants to choose on her own. Like really. It's just something we both have to get through and then we’ll be free, free, free._
> 
> _The banquet is actually an event that'll be more of a good-bye to my father. It’s actually happening tonight! He’s going to Atlantis for a little while. Atlantis is the place all kings and queens would go to for important decisions. Father is going to propose something. I'm not sure what, but he'll be back soon after he's left. We try to find excuses to throw parties a lot. In the mean time, Simon, the King's Hand, gets to sort of substitute for him since he'll be absent. He's alright. Him and the rest of the Small Council have always been a little dodgy, but they mean well at the end of the day. Still, too, father and mother have the final decisions in things._
> 
> _Don’t call humans stupid, Louis. You’re certainly not._
> 
> _I'd love to stay in the human world with you. Would also like you to spend time down here. Wish for a lot of things still. It's a bit selfish of me, I think. I want too many things. Especially if they're new and exciting things. You're new and exciting. I expect you always will be to me. Incidentally, I'd love nothing more than to resurface, but this banquet is busying me and so are the suitors. I think we’re in our last few rounds before we’re left alone, so that’s something to look forward to!_
> 
> _You'll get me a present. I know you will. You've already shown me you have a generous heart. I genuinely believe that even if I hadn't told you that helping a merperson got you a wish, you still would've done it. I think I saw that in you a few hours later, loud, strong and true. We merely got off on a rocky path since, well, I stole your little boats._
> 
> _I have two best friends. Niall and Liam. They are my guards. One guards me specifically. My room, when I swim out of the palace, out of the kingdom. Everything like that. He knows me so well that when I become king, I will appoint him as my Hand. He's strict and stuff, makes sure I don't get into trouble even if I manage to still do, but it's because he cares and likes his job. It's nice, too, because I talk to Liam as me, Harry, not always Prince Harry. He gets on my arse and wakes me up now. Up and early. He's not even gentle about it, you know? He lifts up the hood of my bed and lifts up the algae curtain and yells at me to wake up. Any prince or king would kill their guard if they did that, but I don't. I need him. He keeps me on my tail. He also gives me incredible advice when I ask it. That's why I think he'd be the best Hand._
> 
> _Niall is... definitely Liam's polar opposite. He likes to laugh a lot. He sleeps on his job because he doesn't want to be a guard (but he told me that me being so cool with him makes the job a lot easier). He guards the kingdom's walls. Yes, even if it's invisible to humans, it's not invisible to those within the ocean. We don't want trouble coming into our midst, now, do we? Niall also tells me a lot of jokes and loves to eat a lot. Loves it, hence the worms. I knew giving him the whole thing would make him extremely happy._
> 
> _I'd love to know about your friends and your family. You did say that you have a big family, didn't you?_
> 
> _I'd love to play the flute for you. It's a specialty of mine. You played your guitar for me, too, after all. Also, Niall took me to his own secret grotto. He actually has guitars! Even if they're filled with water he can still play them a little. I think I forgot one instrument, and I don’t know why because it’s Niall's specialty and what he really wants to do. Sponges. He can play the sponges!_
> 
> _Merfolk are the exception to a lot of things. It seems within us, we have our own slight power to have the little things work. And yes, we do have bands and famous musicians around here. The ocean would be horribly dull without them._
> 
> _I hope that whenever I do come up to the shore, you will actually be there. I wouldn't know what to do if I went and you weren't there. That thought had never occurred to me until now. Maybe I would wait on the sand by the rocks and keep turning to see if you've emerged from the stairs by that grey wall. Maybe I'd have my dolphins keep an eye out until you came back while I hung around the coral reef a little farther out, ready to come to the shore. Did you know I swim a pretty long distance to get to the shoreline? The kingdom is pretty far out. If you stuck your head out from the brim of the water in the middle of the kingdom, all you would see is blue, blue, blue water. I'd travel great lengths for you, even more so when the winter came. Maybe I could swim up north some day and when the ice begins, I'll know I'm close, and then I'd get up on the ice and walk on it until I reached the beach. That actually sounds terrifying. I'll have to get back to you on that plan._
> 
> _Louis, I promise you write just as well. Writing is something I was taught to do young. I have to make decrees one of these days, don't I? I have to address formal letters one of these days, don't I?_
> 
> _Do you know what's funny? I cannot for the life of me begin to fathom meeting you when I did. Bored, in need of new and exciting things, and then there's you and your incredible footwear. I wasn't just stealing your little boats. I was starting a new journey and I didn't even know it. When I swam up to the actual shore, waiting for you and your bike, and when you were pushing the bike, I was a little afraid. It was so new that it was horrifying. But then, I thought, maybe starting a new journey wouldn't be that bad. I still feel that. And who knows? Maybe it's already begun. Maybe the purple sunrise was one of many with us. We're both the same with that and I'm so, so happy to know I get to share future adventures with you, however small or large they may be, whenever they may be. I just know the next time we see each other, it'll be another adventure for us once again and we'll be happy because it's new and exciting. It's something we both need._
> 
> _Until the next letter,  
>  - H._
> 
> _P.S._
> 
> _Does your sister maybe want her hair clip and bobby pins back? I don't want you in trouble because of me, she can always have them back!_

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

_**2 July** _  

> _Dear Harry,_
> 
> _Hi._
> 
> _Want to see your reaction. I hope you're laughing,  
>  \- Louis.  
>  _
> 
> _P.S._
> 
> _This is about the fact that you said you'd answer me if I wrote one letter or one word, so I did. Even if it’s a little longer than one letter or one word. It’s still shorter than I know either of us would like._
> 
> _P.S.S._
> 
> _Don't worry about the clip and bobby pins. They're yours. She can always go get new ones._

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

_**9 July** _  

> _Dear Louis,_
> 
> _Oops. Someone's forgotten to write the rest of the letter!_
> 
> _I hope you're laughing, too,  
>  - H._
> 
> _P.S._
> 
> _I had to rip a piece of the full page for you. From now on, that page will be used for funny one-worded letters._

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

**_16_   _July_**     

> _Dear Harry,_
> 
> _You're too funny. I did laugh. I hope the banquet was alright? Are you still seeing suitors? God, don't know if you've gotten outside yet, but it's really hot outside now. Mid July, after all. Also, to answer your question, I do like history. How else are we supposed to understand our futures without understanding the past? I think there's some quote about that somewhere. I don't remember it right now and frankly I couldn't be bothered to look it up at the moment. I'll lose my train of thought with this letter if I did. By the way, Zayn saw me writing this just now and asked me what I was doing every week writing all the time at night. Takes me long to get words out on paper, y'know? So, yeah, that happened. Of course I didn't tell him I was writing to my merman friend. I told you I'd keep you a secret and I'm a man of my word._
> 
> _I'd like to tell you that mum is not just an exotic animal veterinarian. She is, alright. She said this, these are her words. She is a "Mixed Practice Veterinarian", which means she deals with both large and small animals. There's actually a HUGE animal hospital here and she works there now. She also works part time at the aquarium. I'd like to also put this on the record that every time someone fishes, it's not always for food. Sometimes it's for having aquatic pets. Sometimes it's for aquariums, which are like... zoos, but for ocean life. Which, in turn, is a place that's open to the public. People can go in and gawk at animals that they wouldn't normally see in their lifetimes. Like an elephant, for instance. I think those are endangered. I'm worried about endangered species. Especially now more than ever._
> 
> _I've decided to go back to school next year, too. I'd taken a lot of basics and gotten into biology and sciences before dropping out entirely. I think I can maybe take a look at marine biology. It's fascinating. Everything seems much more brighter ever since I spent a whole day with you. It's a little frightening how one person can change your life like that in such a short amount of time. Are you even real? Is this a side effect of meeting a merperson or is it a side effect of meeting you?_
> 
> _I should tell you I've gotten a new tattoo since meeting you. It's a quote, simple. "given a chance". Needless to say, our night spent under the stars was more than inspiring._
> 
> _Your friends sound hysterical, by the way. And by that, I mean Niall specifically. How did you manage to befriend two completely different people? I, frankly, am shocked. Maybe your friend Liam should meet Zayn and I. We'd definitely loosen him up a bit. He seems like he needs it. Seriously, though, as long as they're true friends, that's all that matters. So, right. More about Zayn. Met him when we were, I think, he was seven and I was eight? That year. Anyways, yeah, we became best mates. Caused lots of trouble when we got older, just because we wanted to have fun. He's pretty quiet a lot of the time and is devoted to art. Loves to do art. He's so talented with that. He's very creative, too. I guess that comes with the whole artistic thing. He's also a git. Watches kid movies and loves them to bits. It's embarrassing. I love him all the same._
> 
> _I've also got Eleanor. She's lovely, honestly. Met her when I was... sixteen, maybe? I don't know. I actually dated her before I came to terms with who I was. Had this whole conversation with Zayn about it, too. He was a big asset into me realizing I was gay, he's gorgeous. I can't even pretend. He became much more comfortable with being bi before I even admitted I was gay so, yeah, he was a big help. We're talking about Eleanor, right. She's always wearing the nicest clothes. She tells me to get my head screwed on straight more than half the time. It's often when I'm being stupid. She was very okay when I broke up with her and she actually became protective of ME when that happened. As if I needed protecting. But honestly, she's a great person to get lunch with and drink warm beverages whilst binging a show on Netflix. (that's a story for another time) And, like, I can trust her with anything, really. Can tell her anything and she knows how to be that friend who doesn't tell me what I want to hear or what will please me. She tells me straight up what she thinks. She moved a few long towns away so I don't see her as much as I used to now._
> 
> _My family, though, you really have to know about my family? My mum's named Jay. Johanna, whatever, but Jay. She's extremely intelligent and a very strong woman. I should've mentioned she's my best friend, actually. I will never meet someone stronger than her, someone so eye opening and courageous. Then there's Lottie, she's seventeen. Loves makeup. I let her practice on me once. Mum had Fizzy after, who is very outspoken and just as smart. She's well aware of a lot that goes on in the world. Then there's the first set of twins, Daisy and Phoebe. They're the type to occasionally wear the same clothes. They've just started decorating their rooms, too. They're at THAT age. And lastly you've got my youngest siblings. They're also twins, believe it or not. Ernie and Doris. They've just turned two, like, in February. Hey! Like your birthday. And then there's me, at the top. All the way at the top. The most best Tomlinson._
> 
> _We should play the guitar and flute together someday. Promise? And if you ever get to come over, I can show you the piano._
> 
> _I'd hate it if you waited for me. I wouldn't want to make you wait for so long. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, yeah? No need for you to get nervous over something that might not happen for a bit._
> 
> _Never make a decree to ban me. That’s not nice. That’s all I ask._
> 
> _You've gotten emotional on me, Haz. Do you always have such deep thoughts like that? I can't exactly blame you, though. I understand. I feel it, too. I mean, obviously I do. Obviously I value you being in my life, even if we're far apart. The truth is, though, that you've got me thinking of so many things that it seems there are worlds of endless possibilities at my fingertips now. There's literally a whole other world under the sea that sounds so magical that I can't even wrap my head around it. But it's real. You're real. So what does that mean? Maybe there are other worlds, too, out there. I'd like to visit them all. Yours first. Always. And no matter how many worlds are out there, no matter what happens in our separate lives, no matter what happens when you're up here and I'm down there, don't ever change._
> 
> _Thinking of you,  
>  _ _\- Louis._
> 
> _P.S._
> 
> _I'm saving the tiny letter. Gonna frame it and everything, just you wait._
> 
> _P.S.S._
> 
> _I watched The Little Mermaid yesterday with Ernie and Doris. Made me miss you more than I already do._
> 
> _P.S.S.S._
> 
> _This is the longest I've written to you, I'm quite proud. Are you proud? I'm proud._

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

_**23 July**_   

> _Dear Louis,_
> 
> _I just remembered how you laughed and could hear it clearly in my head. I miss it. I hope you’re always laughing, Lou. You sound happier with your life. Everything seems to be going very well and I’m so happy for you. Genuinely I’m just so, so happy. I want you to write to me about everything, everything, everything you’re happy about always._
> 
> _The banquet was lovely and so was the concert. We all dined well and even if I had to bow and say all my pleases and thank yous, it was all fine. The concert was by far the best part. Crustaceans tend to make sure we don’t screw up when we’re doing our concerts, so ours made sure we were top notch for our performance. We always followed his queues. I had my very own flute solo and it was the most exhilarating thing to receive an applause. At the end of the day, it’s all thanks to Kegan the crustacean. He taught me all I know. And now, dad’s away to Atlantis._
> 
> _And guess what?! No more suitors! Gemma and I have met every possible royal and noble that’d be suitable for us and we politely declined each of them. I mean, it’s not like it was fair, either. It was all a bunch of courteous small talk. That’s not the way to get to really know someone. Getting to know someone is lying awake under the stars, waiting for the purple sunrise to peek up from the horizon, causing the sky to bleed glorious warm colors, all with someone else and talking nonstop to them. And it’s also sending back and forth letters to one another even after that one day and night. You know, for instance._
> 
> _I’m so happy for your mother, too. I’d tell you to tell her she’s doing a great favor for all of us and every other animal who will undoubtedly need her, but once again, she cannot know about my existence. I’m not ready for that sort of thing. Do you know the risk it was actually unveiling myself to you? I will never get over that, actually. Thankfully it’s something I don’t regret and am very positive it’s something I will NEVER regret. I want to go to one of those zoo things one of these days. They sound fun, but I hope the animals are alright and well taken care of in captivity._
> 
> _Please tell me you’re absolutely joking about that tattoo. You did not get that because of me. What am I supposed to say to that?! Well, I’ll start with the obvious. I’m flattered that I somehow influenced you so much that you had to get a tattoo with that specific saying. I love it, I can’t wait to see it. I’m also happy that it seems so positive and that it’s literally marked on your skin. It must mean so much and I can only imagine just how much it does. I hope your life gives you infinite chances on anything you wish to do in it from now on, too, and never forget that there’s always a chance and a choice in every possible situation. Always._
> 
> _Once again, Zayn sounds amazing. Maybe one day I’ll meet him, if you let me, but not right now, of course. I guess I need both Niall and Liam to balance me out, like a devil and angel on my shoulder. Niall says that sometimes. I don’t know what it means, but I guess it’s some sort of lore from you people. Angels and devils, I mean. I don’t know. But it makes sense. He says that he’s the angel in the analogy and that Liam’s the devil, but then Liam disagrees. Either way, one of them is one, and the other is the second, so it still makes sense as much as it can._
> 
> _Eleanor sounds absolutely divine. I’m sorry you don’t get to see her as much as you once used to. I’d like to tell you that Liam often does the same as Eleanor seems to do for you. Liam tells me what he thinks and stuff all the time. That’s why I want him as my Hand. I think I told you that already. Anyways, I’m happy that you have lovely friends. I hope you never surround yourself with revolting people. I mean, on the inside, you know? That would be terrible._
> 
> _May I meet your family one day? One day. Not now. But one day when it’s all okay. They sound absolutely beautiful. I feel the exact same about my mother, too. She’s the strongest woman I know. Love her to bits. I think it’s really cute that your mother’s like your best friend. At the end of the day, I guess my own mum will come first always, too. She matters to me so much. I think it’s incredible that your mum’s managed to have two sets of twins?! Obviously it’s possible, I just think it’s so rare. What a huge, huge family. I expect that your mum’s got a boyfriend or something, right? It’d make sense. Is it weird that I could genuinely imagine you saying that you were the ‘most best’ Tomlinson? You’re so funny, Louis. (But, just between us, I have to agree. You are the most best Tomlinson, even if I haven’t met the rest of your family to get a proper opinion. After what you’ve done for me and our back and forth letters, I have no doubt you are the absolute best person in the whole world)._
> 
> _Let’s play all the music we can the next we see each other. And, before we do (see each other, that is) we’ll have to plan it out beforehand, right? Right. It will all work out, I can feel it. Guess what? Today we’re going to a seahorse race. Yes! We have races for seahorses. Sometimes dolphins race. Sometimes we ride dolphins during those races, too. It’s all very fun, and they love to do them! It’s one of their all-time favorite things to do when they get older. Merfolk also race against each other sometimes, but it’s not as fun. There’s something purely epic about dolphins going that fast and being that vicious to get to first place. Seahorses are just talented on their own. They actually go very fast during races. Some are famous._
> 
> _You know how you keep praising how I write? It’s my turn. This was beautiful. Like you. I’m very touched that you wish me not to change no matter what happens. I don’t plan on changing. I’ll definitely not change as long as you don’t either. Just the thought of it devastates me. I adore you the way you are. And you’re right, too, you know? Every time I read something of yours, my mind is swimming with thoughts and wishes and it leaves me in some sort of thing. Like, if I could put it into impossibilities, I feel like I’m in a cloud all the way up in the sky. I love this little world between ours. We always reach it through our letters. It’s my most favorite thing and I’m filled with a thought that everything and anything is possible. I don’t ever want to lose that feeling, and it’s all because of you. I guess I think about the cloud as where I am because when you think of it, we’re both under the same sky. We share the same sky, Louis._
> 
> _ Thanks for being in my life,  
>  \- H. _
> 
> _ P.S. _
> 
> _ Me too. I'm saving all your letters. _
> 
> _ P.S.S. _
> 
> _ I miss you, too. I want to 'watch' The Little Mermaid, too. I've only ever heard the story, after all. _
> 
> _ P.S.S.S. _
> 
> _ I'm always proud of you, Lou. _

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

_**30 July**_      

> _Dear Harry,_
> 
> _I need to be honest now. I don’t think you’ve made me blush so much until your last letter. Literally, what the fuck? You compliment me too much and half the time I don’t know what to say except thank you. Except, I do know what to say. One of my favorite traits about you is YOUR laugh. They’re soft and gentle, and sometimes you hum really high and it’s the most fucking endearing thing about you. I genuinely miss hearing it, but at least it’s embedded in my mind now, just like how, apparently, my laugh is embedded into yours. I hope you laugh all the time and smile so much that your dimples can’t help but appear. You’re loveliest when you smile._
> 
> _Big ups on the concert and banquet! And on no longer having suitors to be overly polite to! Sounds like you had a blast. Hope your dad has a good time in his trip to Atlantis. Jesus, Haz, I still can’t get over Atlantis being real. Do you know how many humans would go berserk if they knew that it’s real? There’d probably be a riot. It must be so nice. I wonder if it’s all anyone ever dreams of. I wonder if your KINGDOM is everything people dream of and more. Your world sounds so carefree and fascinating. The thing is… you have to understand, Haz. We know a lot about the ocean. I mean, there’s an entire degree dedicated to the ocean and everything in it. People learn about it all the time and honestly, the ocean is one of the most loveliest things in the world to us. When we think of the ocean, or at least when I think of the ocean, it’s a typical coral reef with bright colors and tons of fish swimming about. It’s beautiful and majestic. Just that._
> 
> _And the thing is we know there’s more. Deep sea fishes and the abyss and the trenches and stuff. You name it, we know it all. Except for merfolk and their lives, their culture, how it all works that they’ve been able to stay hidden for ages. I honestly feel so honored to be just that closer to something divine that no one knows over here and I must be so selfish to want to keep it all to myself. I mean, just knowing fucking ATLANTIS exists is surreal! Harry, it’s mind blowing. Honestly, a few months ago, the idea of someone like you was just a fairytale and yet here I am, giving bottled messages to a pair of lovely dolphins and getting a reply back from the same dolphins, like some royal couple of messengers. You have to understand how amazing it is. I’m so happy to know you, I’m so happy everything’s incredible for us both._
> 
> _I think animals in captivity for zoos are taken care off here, yeah. No worries there. My mum would have a fit if they weren’t. She takes the best care. Loves what she does, really. Maybe one day I can tell her you sent your thanks, but for now, I’ll keep that to myself and speak for her. She, in my head, says ‘you’re welcome’._
> 
> _Of course I’m not joking about the tattoo. And you should very well damn be flattered. Needless to say, you opened my eyes, and I’m going to do my best to keep them open, too. It’s my new favorite tattoo anyways. Completely healed and peeled off now._
> 
> _You can meet my family whenever you want. Just tell me. And my friend Zayn. Whenever you want. Just name it. I know you’re not comfortable with anyone but me knowing, and I completely understand that, but for the record, I know for a fact my mother and Zayn would never blab to anyone else about you and your kind’s existence. They’re simply not like that. But you know, no rush or anything, obviously. Just know you definitely can. And don’t you dare forget it that I am THE BEST TOMLINSON ever. Ever. If any of my sisters tell you otherwise one day, they’re lying._
> 
> _No fucking way you guys have races. I believe it actually. But so do we! With land horses. By the way, seahorses and land horses don’t actually look a lot alike save for their snout? Just kidding I remember I showed them to you in a video. Anyways, I bet that’s so much fun to see and be a part of! Have you ever ridden a dolphin in a race? Do Jackie and Evan participate? By the way, I just figured out that Jackie and Evan are together and it’s the sweetest thing. They’re amorous to each other. Listen, I know dolphins are vicious when they can be, but Jackie and Evan have literally let me seen the light. I feel like humans only see one side of the ocean and it’s not fair because, fuck, if they knew dolphins weren’t so brutal and that sharks actually felt bad after accidentally taking a bite off a human, I think it could establish world peace._
> 
> _I love what you said. We up here in the human world sort of call that ‘in a cloud’ feeling as being on ‘cloud nine’. I actually don’t know where the nine part comes from. I don’t really say it, but it’s a saying. So, I completely agree. That’s what reading something of yours feels like, too. And the thing is, I’ve gotten to knowyour handwriting and it kind of brings an overwhelming calm to know it’s always from you. I like knowing that we have this. I don’t think people can take this away from us. And to be honest, obviously the world, or worlds really, are huge, but just because we do this all the time, it’s like, I feel like we bridge those huge gaps between worlds. And I think there are many worlds out there. How can I not after knowing you exist? But the thing is that all those worlds? They share the same sky, just like you said we share the same sky. One sky, one destiny. And it keeps me going and makes me look forward to everything new and exciting, just like you._
> 
> _Hoping you are well,  
>  \- Louis._
> 
> _P.S._
> 
> _We can watch The Little Mermaid. I think you'd enjoy it a lot, actually._
> 
> _P.S.S._
> 
> _I'm always proud of you, too. Just because you're you. I always believe that you'll do great things. I can feel it in the words you write. Can't quite explain it, but I can feel it._

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

_**7 August**_   

> _Dear Louis,_
> 
> _ A day after I received your letter, we received word that my father passed away. Apparently, he's had a bit of a problem when heading to Atlantis. Something like an accident. My hands are literally shaking as I write this, Lou. I barely got any sleep. I don't know. It's like I know that he's dead for a fact but it doesn't seem real. He was such a good person, too. Why did this happen to him? Why did this happen to him? Why? Louis, I don't know what to do with myself. I feel like I can't mourn. There's already been stuff happening in preparation for me being king and all I want is to properly mourn.  ~~ and I haven't cried yet even if I can feel it every time I think of it. Like now. But I can't. I have to be strong, don't I? For the kingdom. That's what Simon tells me. So that's what I've been trying to do. ~~ _
> 
> _ Some huge things are going to happen and it's all too fast. Going to get coronated soon. You know. The Atlantic Ocean needs its king. Gonna have to head out on a journey before my father's magic dies out. Did you know that's what happens? Did you know that the new kings must head on this huge quest throughout all the oceans? Once the old kings die or give up their reign, their power over the ocean they used to rule and merfolk starts to disappear. This includes the power to keep the merfolk and the kingdom entirely hidden. So, before that runs out, I have to do this quest and honestly, Louis, it's too much. I feel like I'm about to fucking explode. And I never swear in my letters but I don't know. _
> 
> _ Louis, Louis, how did you do it? How did you feel? I feel like I'm dying inside. He was such a great person, what am I supposed to do without him? How am I supposed to be a better king than him?Or even close to being as good as him? I feel like I can't control a kingdom this big, Louis, I have no idea what the hell I'm thinking. In my head, everything's very incoherent and I'm doing my best to not sound like everything's jumbled, but... I don't know. Louis, I'm sleepy. I just, I don't even know what to say, I'm sorry. On any day I'd leave this so I can give you a happy letter, respond to everything like always, but I feel like I can't express this privately unless it's to you because you have no connection to what's expected of me from everyone at the moment and you're just my friend and I believe you care. _
> 
> _ I'm sorry for unleashing this all onto you but I'm so heartbroken. I guess that's the word. Yes. It's like I expected him to be home. And he wasn't. Like, he was my father above all else. Is that selfish? Maybe it is. He was a good dad, Louis, and he loved me and Gemma and mum and he liked to read. And he taught me a lot of how to be a good future king. And he let me have as much fun as I was allowed and when he was free, when he was free, he would spend as much time with us as he could because he loved us. Fuck. I just used past tense. I’m sorry I’m writing your name so much, too. I’m kind of voicing this out a lot. Your name is comforting in my language, but it holds sorrow right now. _
> 
> _ It's too much. I’m scared. I’m stressed. And I felt bad because I didn’t answer you like how soon I usually answer you. I don’t even know what I’m saying, but I felt bad and also had to talk to you when I could. I just really want to see you now, too, more than ever. Because you understand. Because you don’t expect me to be strong or anything, at least I don’t think. You just expect me to be me and I can be myself around you so very much. This is what I need. _
> 
> _ I’m sorry for this, sorry  
>  \- Harry Styles. _

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

_**10 August** _    

> _ Dear Harry, _
> 
> _I’m so sorry about your loss. You have my condolences and my sympathies and empathies and everything I feel for you. I know I went through the same thing. I do. I completely get it. Losing someone, let alone a father who loved you and you loved back is awful. You know, it’s like sitting there and knowing that he’s gone, but it’s like, you try to wrap around the fact that that means you’re never going to see him again, and that’s what breaks you the most. To lose a person, literally, it’s so bad, Haz, it’s so fucking heartbreaking. Turns your whole world upside down. It really does. I fucking get it and I’m so sorry this happened to you and your sister and your mum._
> 
> _I’m also sorry all of these things are going to happen to you now. God, you need to mourn properly. Promise me you’re going to set time aside, no matter what it takes, to grieve and cry and everything. Please do that. The fact that you feel you owe everyone that strength and yet you’re writing to me, telling me that you’re pretty much going to fucking burst from all this pressure is the worst thing you’ve told me. If you ever do anything, I want you to please, please, please grieve properly. Just because you’re royal doesn’t mean you can’t have emotions. People should understand! You lost your father, Harry._
> 
> _I wish I could tell you something incredible that will make you feel better somehow. I really do. I’m not entirely good at this sort of thing is the thing. I mean, I know that everyone deals with this sort of thing differently. I don’t know how you are when this happens. I’ve only met you once. I don’t know what could possibly make you feel better, Haz. There’s only so much letters could do, and this is something they unfortunately can’t fix. I just know that I was young and I absolutely hated the entire process. And at the same time, I mean, there are days where I think about my dad and I can feel it tumbling into me again, but it’s been a while so it’s not as drowning as it was when it did happen. I just, you sound so upset and so tired and limited and I just wish I could say something that could take that away._
> 
> _But, if you think seeing me would help you in anyway, you do know that I’m right here. I’m always going to be right here. Maybe I’ll be able to say something or do something to comfort you a little better when we do see each other, I don’t know, but you must know that I’m here for you. Really, entirely, truly._
> 
> _But also do what you need to do to feel better? Like EVERYTHING you have to do to feel better. I know, the kingdom, I do. I mean, needing to hide the merfolk world and stuff from humans sounds really serious. But, I want you to please take care of you just as much as you’re going to take care of the Atlantic Ocean. You matter just as much. Fuck, Harry, you are the ocean in my eyes, so you please, please take care of yourself. I hope your mum and sister are doing alright, too. I’d say give them my best, but we’re not in a position for others to know that our worlds are communicating._
> 
> _If you’d like to come up one of these days, definitely let me know and we’ll work it out. Tell me the time of day and I’ll wait for you and give you the biggest fucking hug ever. And don't you ever feel sorry for your feelings, what the fuck? They're completely valid! Especially in this situation of all situations._
> 
> _Please take care,  
>  \- Louis._

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

_**20 August** _     

> _Dear Louis,_
> 
> _ I’m writing this before I sleep and I’m going to send this over with Jackie and Evan, they can have critters leave it on the rocks for you to get to tomorrow. Anyways, I’m going to make my appearance up on the surface the day after tomorrow, if it’s alright. I’ll come around midday. An Atlantis representative is visiting me tomorrow. Mum and the student council also said something about a seahorse messenger coming to me about some sort of proposal from the island of Capri. Sirens thrive there, so I don't know. I have to start my quest very soon. My father’s magic is dying out by the second and I simply cannot risk the exposure of our world. _
> 
> _ Thank you for being so understanding. I can never thank you enough for having you,  
>  \- H. _

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

_**21 August** _    

> _Dear Harry,_
> 
> _I'll wait for you at the rocks tomorrow midday. I'll talk to my boss, Carl, to see if I can work at the shack just in the morning and I'll stay at the beach, waiting for you. We can go for a walk. Anything. Whatever you need, I'm here for you. If you want some ice cream, even, I'll get you that, too. Actually, I think ice cream might do you good. I'll get you chocolate and vanilla as I don't know what you'll prefer. I'll do my best to make it better and you can unleash everything to me._
> 
> _Always in my heart, Harry Styles.  
>  _ _Yours sincerely,  
>  Louis Tomlinson._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry doesn't let himself mourn. He is told about what his journey entails despite it being vague. He sacrifices his future happiness once a proposal is put on the table. He heads to the surface and Louis helps him out with getting a boat. Harry invites him along and tries sea salt ice cream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's actually a lot more than the summary but I'm not good at the chapter ones! I'm heading to Puerto Rico tomorrow so I did my very best to finish this chapter before I leave, and I did. I did a quick grammar and spelling check but when I get back, I'm going to properly go through the chapter and edit it. I think it's alright for now to at least get out there.
> 
> Also, sea salt ice cream is a very real thing. It's actually _very_ delicious and a lot fun to make. I was inspired by Kingdom Hearts— ~~actually, there might be a few other references to that game in quotes, hint hint. I'm not original.~~ And if anyone wants to look at a recipe, [this cutie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7-Zxasvksk) makes an awesome one which I went by last summer with my friends. It's a lot of fun. That being said there might be a bit of Game of Thrones terminology in here, too. For titles. 
> 
> **Quick Note:** This isn't actually britpicked so I'm sorry if I screw up with that. Also, I actually know absolutely _nothing_ about boats or yachts. I've been researching tons about them and docks and all of that stuff so I'm sorry if I do get anything wrong regarding that in the future!

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

**H**

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

Harry was positive that the end of the world would be better than this. The pain didn't subside. It didn’t get better. It didn’t get worse. It was there and constantly strong, tearing at his heart and memories relentlessly. His father was dead and he couldn’t mourn. He had to set that example, the example that he was strong. He had to be strong for his mum. Had to be strong for his sister. Had to be strong for the staff that loved to serve the late King Desmond Styles. Had to be strong for the kingdom and the entire Atlantic Ocean. They loved him just as much. Harry’s father had done so much good for the Atlantic that he would surely be known as a legend. And who knows? Maybe legends never died. Harry tried to tell himself that, but it was just not possible to believe it when Desmond Styles was very much dead in every sense of the word.

He had made no effort to grab another pair of starfish earrings since giving his pair to Louis. So, that meant he had other means of getting up from his bivalve shell bed in the mornings. That required Liam Payne cracking it open and patting him on the shoulder until he woke. If that didn’t work—and it really didn’t the past some weeks—then Liam would lift his algae curtain so light could peak into his coral room, which would eventually wake him. Liam also told him to wake up about eighty times until Harry did if he was being really stubborn.

When it was serious, Liam swam to get Niall and Niall was worse. He would lie in the bivalve shell bed with Harry and would speak to him obnoxiously and poke at his face before slapping his face with his tail. And then Niall would yell and Harry would furrow his brows and groan, only to shove Niall off his prestigious bed and threaten to have him fired. Or worse, Harry threatened to have both their tails cut off.

That was why Harry woke to Niall breathing bubbles against his skin in the most irksome way possible. His upper lip twitched at the tickle and his nose scrunched. Harry could vaguely hear Niall saying his name and could hear Liam’s echoey chuckle somewhere in his room. Harry wished he could sleep and drown. Neither were possible with him. “Your Grace, up, up, up!” Niall shouted in his face, and Harry groaned sleepily, his forehead wrinkling unhappily in discomfort. The gills on the sides of his torso fluttered open, though in a fury. As gentle as Harry was, his eyes were alight with fire that threatened everything in Niall’s existence as he glared at him. Niall immediately shot up from the soft padding of the shell bed, hovering towards the coral ceiling. “Sorry, Your Grace. You’ve just… you’ve got to get up.”

“Stop calling me that.” Harry grumbled. He hated the courtesies of titles and politeness with Liam and Niall. Liam did so often than Niall, which meant that if Niall was being formal, that it was all very serious. “Is someone outside my room?” He asked, rolling onto his back and staring up at him. His eyes shifted over to Liam who was hooking the algae curtain away from the hole that was the window. The brightness bothered Harry far too much. His room was at a pretty high level of water, so light shined in easily from up above. He could see gorgeous shades of glistening blue from the sun piercing through the water and sighed out. Funny. He didn’t feel this bright.

“Yes, actually.” Niall whispered, swimming back down and pulling Harry up. “Come on, make yourself pretty.”

Harry supposed there was really no use in fighting Niall with this. Liam would join him if he resisted anymore, so he swam over to a small bump against the wall that served as a sort of desk. An old, old, old mirror Harry found in a shipwreck hung up against the wall by lamprey slime. He sat down on the coral seat in front of it and got to work, scrubbing down his elegant, luminescent tail with kelp and seaweed.

“So,” Liam began. He and Niall swam up right on either side of Harry. Harry lifted his head to look at the mirror so he could see them, his tail curling at the cleansing contact of the watery plants. “Today’s a big day. I do believe the Hand is waiting just outside your door.” Harry’s jaw clenched, but he nodded. “He’s going to be serving you for a time, you know? He’s sort of acting king right now since you’re still technically the prince. It’d be good to just do everything he says. Everything your mum says until you are king and have gotten a good handle on everything.”

“I’d rather you advise me.” Harry mumbled. He knew he wanted Liam as his Hand, but that couldn’t happen at the moment. “Nothing against Simon or anything,” Harry said, his watery echo lowering in pitch, the better to make sure Simon couldn’t hear him. “but I trust you both with my life. Way more than Simon.” He looked over at Niall, receiving sympathetic blue eyes staring at him in the reflection. “I know you want to be a musician, man. But I’d also definitely appoint you as Master of Whisperers, too, when I can. Just… I need the people _I_ trust. And you’re both a part of that.”

Niall blinked at Harry in shock. “You’re serious? M-me?”

Harry let out a breath of a chuckle, tiny bubbles floating from his parted lips. When his tail was clean and glistening with a coats of kelp and seaweed, he used the seaweed in his hair. “Don’t act like you’re so surprised, Niall. You’re the smartest guy I know. Pretty sure you read for fun. And those are human books you read. Come at us sometimes with the most random bits of knowledge. Of _course_ you’d be Master of Whisperers.” Harry brushed strands of his curly locks inch by inch and threaded his fingers through them to make sure there weren’t any knots. He looked up over to his right at Niall and smiled gently. “Plus, I know you’re not exactly a fan of being a guard. But I’m not about to let you go from my staff quite yet. I’d also try to make your life accommodated so you can play the sponges whenever you’d like.”

Niall’s smile was as contagious as his laughter. It bubbled out of him and Niall lowly bowed his head. “Thank you, Harry. Honestly, that’s so nice of you. I’d do my best, too, you know? To not let you down.”

“Yeah, you’d be great at Master of Whisperers. Maybe then, you wouldn’t sleep on the job.” Liam joked with a small laugh. Niall shot him a look, but then started cracking up. Liam’s eyes lightened with glee and he reached over to clap Niall on the shoulder. “Because, apparently, reading and spying _don’t_ bore you to sleep.”

“When nothing dangerous is happening, you can’t blame me!” Niall said defensively, lifting his hands up.

“The entire point is to stay awake _in case_ something dangerous happens. If I’m correct.” Harry added, looking over at Liam for confirmation. “Right? That _is_ how you guards function, or am I for some reason entirely off on that concept?”

The three of them chuckled and Harry pulled his hair behind his ears. It didn’t do so much since he was submerged in water after all. His hair liked to float elegantly around his face if he was still for too long. Then, he realized what he had just done. Harry suddenly felt very, very, very bad for laughing. He shouldn’t laugh when he felt like some part of his heart was darker without his father in the world. His smile faded quickly and his eyes lowered as he lifted himself up from where he sat and glided over to the window.

"Lovely day out.” Liam chimed. Niall hummed in agreement, their tones echoing around the room quietly. Harry didn’t answer. He rested his forearms on the edge of the roughly cut coral circle of the window and looked out. The world beneath him was awaking, too. Shops were opening with shells opening, tiny cephalopods joining merfolk to work with them, children rushing together to get to school, and other schools of fish, too. It was teeming with life and it made sense because, well, life went on. Harry was expected to do the same, and so he will. He was. He felt Liam and Niall rest besides him too, peering out just like him.

The more Harry looked out to how pretty and lively it was becoming outside his window and immediate palace, the more he hated it all and took back his initial thoughts with how bright it appeared. He’d agree with Liam any other day, but not now. It was suddenly feeling like the evident sunny sky up above was a right punch in the gut to everything that happened since his father died and… and it was probably a punishment on how he actually allowed himself to laugh and smile when he very damn well shouldn’t. 

The thing is that Harry couldn’t stop thinking about his father. Not _really_. His father had been an incredible king and a perfect dad. Like Anne, Des listened to every worry from commoners and tried to fix every issue fairly. He made sure there was still an incredible abundance of megalodon teeth so their economy didn’t dwindle down into nothing, which meant he kept tabs with his Master of Coin a _lot_. He often visited orphanages of fish and merfolk to bring smiles to their faces, often visited Sea Witches that held sick merfolk and fish to bid them good luck. In turn, he had been doing his best to make his children happy. He’d wanted old ways to be revoked and to have his children be as free as possible, but that was always difficult. It didn’t matter. His effort meant everything to Harry and Gemma and evidently hadn’t gone to waste. The late king also liked strolling around the palace with them to catch up and just get to know them a little more every day. He liked listening to them play musical aquatic instruments and liked them attempting to teach him, too. The king had been absolutely clueless with instruments—even with something as simple as coral tubes.

Harry couldn’t fathom that this happened to him. How could this happen?!

“So, when you get your breakfast,” Liam continued, breaking Harry out of his thoughts. For his own personal guard, Liam really did like to keep Harry on his fin. He was more than his guard and has always been, really. He didn’t have some personal servant or anything because that was just too unnecessary for him. Liam was his best friend, his advisor, his protector. This was why he was going to be his Hand when the time came. “Simon’s out there right now. He’ll guide you to breakfast but then you’ll both head to the small council chamber. That’s where you’ll meet someone from Capri Island and get all of your information about your quest from the Atlantis rep. The Atlantis rep is going to tell you what it is you must do for your quest.”

Right. The quest. He could feel the last of his father’s magic dying out. His scepter said it all, too. It was losing its glow. Harry couldn’t let that happen. He had to get this quest done as soon as possible… whatever it was, of course. This was just too _much_.

“Every king in the history of time has had to go through this from all oceans. Your father was one of them. I have no doubt in my mind you’ll only come out of it successful.” Niall added. Harry closed his eyes.

“Thanks for the pep talk.” Harry said gently. He wished he didn’t have to think of any of this. He had the strongest need to disappear and find Louis. He missed Louis so much. All the letters they’d exchange over the past few months had only made Harry fonder of the human, if it were at all possible. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to mourn like Louis told him to. He would if he could. Harry noticed how… calm everything was. How could anyone be _calm,_ when Harry felt like a storm was just beginning to settle in the pit of his stomach?

No. He couldn’t cause a storm again.

“I mean,” Liam began. “I don’t know what you’ll have to do, of course… but… I’m sure it’s nothing too bad if every king’s done it.” Harry could see, from the corner of his vision, that Liam looked over at Niall for confirmation. Niall grimaced.

Harry shrugged. “As long as I succeed before the magic that keeps the Atlantic kingdom and all merfolk in this ocean purely invisible, then I’ll consider it a journey well worth it.” He looked over at Niall. “What’s the timeframe you think I’ll have with that by now? It’s been a little while and I know the magic’s dwindling down every second wasted. I don’t want the magic to wear off while I’m still on this quest. Any risk of exposure to human explorers would be extremely vulnerable… and that would be the worst way to start a reign, wouldn’t it?”

Niall shrugged. “Difficult to say but I think a week… give or take, that is.” _Fuck._ ”The longest a specific ocean’s merfolk world’s been kept visible after the death of a king without the son claiming his own power and scepter has been a full month. Happened in 1926 in the Indian Ocean.” Niall really was a living, breathing burst of handy and random knowledge. Yes, he’d be perfect as Master of Whisperers. Either way, Harry grimaced at the thought that he’d have just a little over a week to do this thing. “No pressure.” Niall quickly added. “Except… well… yeah, the pressure’s there.” Harry opened his eyes wide, tired. “Aren’t you heading out tomorrow to do it?”

“Yes. So… I should be fine, if all goes well.” Harry muttered.

“Right. And, you know, they didn’t do it alone.” Niall continued. Harry and Liam looked over at him curiously. “You know, King Elea Birch hitched a ride on a dolphin throughout all the oceans for his test. And then, of course, there was King Kaj Landvik of the Arctic Ocean who was supposedly stowed away on human boats and ships to get around all the oceans.” Harry’s face lit up. Niall had told him that story before. That was true. Somehow, it eased Harry’s nerves over whatever his journey would entail. “So, as you can see…” Niall shrugged. “It’s best to go with someone.”

“What about you two?” Harry asked.

“Another merperson cannot accompany the soon-to-be-king on his quest, unfortunately.” Niall quickly said. He shrugged again. “Just animals, and, I guess, human vessels. Don’t know, have you thought about how you’re going to go around or are you just going to… casually swim by like all the other kings have that haven’t had help?”

Harry shook his head. “No. If I can help it, I need to lessen the time of this quest and get it done as fast as possible. I don’t want to risk the invisibility wearing off because it took me too long. I’m definitely going to get some assistance.”

“From who, then?” Liam asked, frowning. And fuck, that was the million MT (megalodonian tooth) question, wasn’t it? But Harry suddenly knew the answer. He didn’t know why he took a second to worry.

“Jackie and Evan—you know, my pet dolphins—have always told me that they… they have some friends.” Harry’s voice took on a more hopeful tone. “Manatees and sharks that I guess would help me if I asked. And then, of course, Jackie and Evan themselves…” He lowered his gaze. “And if I can get my hands on a boat… a big one, you know? I don’t see why I couldn’t combine the two and cruise right through.”

Liam raised his eyebrows. “Where are you going to get a _boat?_ Or a _ship?_ Or _any_ human vessel? It’s not like you can… you can… _work_ it or whatever they do to make it move.” The corners of Harry’s lip twitched upwards. “I think the sharks could be a brilliant idea, though. You could go on a chariot and tie them and they could take you around—“

“Louis.” Harry said quietly. “Louis might know a way.”

For a moment, the three of them were all silent. Niall’s head had snapped far too quickly to look at Harry, his blue eyes wide with shock, screaming, _Are you mad?!_ at Harry. Liam leaned forward to look at Harry and then glanced at Niall. Niall quickly feigned confusion. “Erm, Harry,” Liam began, clearing his throat. “Who’s Louis?”

Harry couldn’t say. Not to Liam. Not yet.

“A friend.” Harry whispered, a smile forming on his lips at the thought of him. Once again, it disappeared quickly once he felt guilty for smiling. He should mourn, like Louis said. He couldn’t. Notyet. “So, yeah. Alright. I’ll… did you both get breakfast?” He asked, pointing at his friends as he glided backwards. “Or are you going off to your homes to sleep?”

“We’ve been on duty the entire night, mate, we’re exhausted.” Niall said sleepily as Liam yawned and stretched his arms. “Honestly, we’re here to say bye if you’re not here by the time we’re back to guarding later.” He gave Harry a knowing wink. Harry pressed his lips together. His shoulders slumped and he smiled sadly at them both with a tilt of his head. Niall only beamed. “You’ll do great, man, really.” He said, shooting out at Harry and curling into him with a tight hug. “Just come back because, of course, being alone with Liam all the time without a break can kill someone.”

Even before Liam could say anything, Niall was cracking up, pulling away from Harry. Harry couldn’t help letting himself laugh softly. Liam frowned. “I’m a joy to be around!” He huffed, sounding horrendously offended. Niall was losing it, full of laughs as he doubled over, his hands holding his stomach. He sunk to the floor of Harry’s room, his burgundy tail swishing in the water. Harry imagined that if Niall had legs, and if he was laughing this hard, on his back on the floor, maybe he’d be kicking his legs instead from how hard he was laughing. Was that a possible thing with humans? He wasn’t sure. “Oh, stop _laughing_ ,” Liam said, swimming over to him. He looked down at Niall and grinned.

“That’s mean, Niall.” Harry drawled, still smiling. “I do ask that you be kind to each other while I’m gone. I mean, I’m going tomorrow, you know, so I might see you, but if I’m done early, who knows? I might actually leave as soon as I’m all done with the Small Council. Don’t want to delay this sort of thing.” Niall was still snickering. Harry cleared his throat importantly. “Seriously. Be good to each other or I’ll have both your tails.”

“Duly noted, Your Grace.” Liam promptly said, like it was an automatic thing. Harry scowled at that, but Liam wrapped his arms around him and clapped his back. Harry returned the gesture and smiled as he peered over Liam’s shoulder to see Niall only just now calming down from his fit of laughter. He always was laughing, that Niall, even when the joke’s effect was worn away for everyone else. Liam pulled from Harry and smiled proudly. “Go on, then. Get to Simon outside and eat. Or he’ll have my tail, too.”

“Bring us back presents, too!” Niall shouted happily, sitting up from the floor. Harry softly laughed, but nodded kindly. “I heard the kingdom in Australia on the Pacific side has tons of different accessories we don’t have over here.”

Harry blinked. “You’ve never been?”

“Not everyone has your luxury, _Your royal high-neeeeee.”_ Harry laughed out loud. Oh, no, but he shouldn’t. It quickly died out. “You may be tied to being royal, but when you’re free, you go off doing whatever you want, don’t you?” Niall asked with a lopsided smile. “Maybe one day if I get vacation…” He coughed exaggeratedly into his fist. “Hint, hint.”

Niall didn’t have to tell him twice. “I promise you both will have well deserved vacations for dealing with me.” Harry told them both.

Liam’s eyes widened appreciatively. “Come back soon, then, Your Grace!” He said, placing his hand on Harry’s back and guiding him out of his room. “If you don’t get out of here, you’ll never leave, though, so I think it’s about time, don’t you?” Niall was in a fit of giggles again. Harry had to laugh into the back of his hand.

“Alright, alright, I’m going!” Harry reassured before waving behind him. Honestly, the Small Council meeting shouldn’t take too long, so that _would_ leave Harry to pack up well and maybe head to shore. Maybe Louis would be there. Maybe. “I’ll see you in a week, hopefully!” He said, just as the King’s Hand came into view. Simon. Harry sighed, his smile fading immediately and his own father rushing back into his head. Harry’s hands rested at his side as he swam towards Simon. “Good morning.”

“Your Grace, good morning to you.” Harry nodded to show he was giving Simon his attention. “You have my sympathies yet again. All this important business must leave your head full of stress.” Harry couldn’t let Simon think that. His eyebrows knit together and he looked up and to the right thoughtfully before shaking his head. He hated lying about his emotions towards his father’s death, but he had to seem a strong, fit soon-to-be-king. “No?”

“I’ve had enough time to process his death, Simon, I do think it is time to set my sight on the future and what’s best for the Atlantic.” Harry said, his voice full of authority and confidence he felt he did not have.

Simon seemed surprised. “Oh, well, good on your part, Your Grace.” Harry kept a straight face, expressionless save for his eyes which held the slightest bit of impatience to hide his sorrow and fear of the unknown that was his future reign. “The Atlantic lives on and is in need of their next heir, so it’s good that you’re being strong about this, keeping your head up. You’ll need it now more than ever. Let’s go along to breakfast, shall we?” Simon turned so he and Harry could swim side by side together. 

The King’s Hand was the advisor to the king. That meant at the moment, he advised him and his mother, the Queen Regent. Truth be told, Harry wasn’t all too keen of Simon. He was chosen by his father to be Hand when his original died from old age. Simon did the absolute _most_ a lot of the time. Once, he found out his mother’s “desire” to split the northern and southern Atlantic Oceans into two separate kingdoms—like how humans viewed it, apparently—was actually a very well persuaded suggestion from Simon. Harry had then told her the cons about why doing so was actually a very bad idea and it didn’t end up happening.

Harry’s mouth twisted. He wished he was in his room again, but without Liam and Niall, so he could close himself up in his bed and sob until his body couldn’t cry anymore. “I figure since my cravings for breakfast aren’t as strong today, I might just head to the Council Chamber instead.”

Simon bowed his head. “Of course, Your Grace. Whatever you wish. It only makes sense. Grief tends to change people for a time.” Harry pressed his hands to his face tiredly for a second before pulling them back down, holding his hands together properly against his lap. “We’ll be speaking to someone from Capri firstly, get that conversation out of the way.” 

That, too. _Why_ was someone from Siren land coming to see them? Merfolk and sirens didn’t get along. It was actually really absurd. Both cousin species may have a strong fear or distaste for the human population up above, but merfolk never made it their mission to _kill_ humans. Merfolk also were much softer, gentler, and kinder in personality. Sirens, on the other hand, did kill humans and had sharper, more bitter personalities more often than not. They rarely felt remorse and were completely selfish.

The two species have hated each other for centuries now.

Simon continued speaking. “And then we’ll get along to speaking to the Atlantis representative who will give you the complete description of what it is you have to do on your mission. Once you complete the initial quest, you know you’ll have to seek out the Nautical Mage, yes?” Harry nodded with a hum. “Then, once that happens, you’ll be able to hold all your power within yourself and embed it into your scepter.” Right. His _dad’s_ scepter. Although, it’s been passed down for ages, so he supposed it was rightfully his. “Then, once the Atlantic’s merfolk population is hidden from humans once more, you will be coronated.” Harry was waiting for Simon to express him taking a break. “So far, of course.”

This was just _so_ much.

“Then, there’s the subject of marriage. You and your sister are quite lucky, aren’t you? Convinced your parents to twist a few traditions around in your favor so you don’t have to be in an arranged marriage to someone you don’t know?” Harry was quiet. “Not a royal or noble came to your liking, I was told. That might be bad, Harry, to the commoners you reign over. Now, it gives anyone a possible free ride to be your spouse and rule beside you. That’s never happened before. And then you’ll need to have children with them, assure a blood related heir to the throne in case something happens to you. The Styles lineage must live on.” Harry wanted to punch Simon in the face. He kept blabbing on and on about marriage and expressed his opinion—which, in all honesty, Harry should scream at him for, because Simon was just the Hand and it certainly wasn’t his fucking place unless he was asked—until they got just outside the Council Chamber. “Your Grace, _Harry_ , are you listening?”

Harry blinked slowly. “Yes. Of course I am. I sincerely apologize.” This was so _exhausting_. He wasn’t even sincere. It was just so fucking exhausting and he wanted to head up to the surface already. Find Louis. Hopefully Louis would be there when he went. If not, he had no problem waiting until tomorrow. “It’s a bit to take in, that’s all.”

“Of course. I understand. But… Do try to keep up.” Simon gave him a look that had Harry questioning everything. It gave him the slightest discomfort, but it made him all the more determined to show Simon that he damn well _could_ keep up.

The Small Council was made up of older merfolk that assisted in advising the king in making important decisions. They also institute policies at the king’s command. Unfortunately, the king isn’t always needed—as advised _by_ the Small Council—in some decisions. The royal life was pretty shady like that. Simon was a part of the Small Council. Being who he was as the King’s Hand, he tended to serve as the king’s proxy whenever the king was not needed or not present. As the lead advisor, he also chaired the meetings if the king wasn’t there. Since Harry being the soon-to-be-king _would_ be there, but wasn’t officially king, his mother was acting as Regent and that would be enough. There was also Harry McGee, who had the lovely position of Master of Coin. Richard Griffiths was Master of War and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard—so yes, he was also Liam and Niall’s boss. Thankfully, he’s had the simplest, easiest job as there have no been no wars, invasions or any other problems of any kind. Simon Jones—not to be confused with Simon Cowell, the Hand—was Master of Law. A seahorse by the name Benjamin sat as Master of Whisperers, but he was aging. The Master of Whisperers’ official job description was to act as sentry and have scouts running around for him to gather information in secret.

“Before this… meeting commences,” Harry began when he entered the room and sat beside his mother. “I would like to make a proposal, Lord Commander, that Liam Payne and Niall Horan are relieved of their duties for at least a week. They’ve been working hard and are a pair I greatly trust with my life. They do deserve a bit of a vacation of sorts.”

Richard opened his mouth to speak, looking like he was about to deny the request, but Harry’s exhausted, yet dark glare seemed to have him clamp his mouth shut. He bowed his head lightly. “As you wish, Your Grace.”

“Thank you.”

Two strangers were here, too—guests to the Small Council. One was a white spotted octopus, with an overall scarlet color. The other guest was a mermaid. She wore such exquisite jewelry and had a decorative top draped over her chest. Her hair was filled with accessories and faded from white blonde at the top to a vibrant blue at the bottom. Her tail had intricate accessories as well, filled with pattern inserted scales that faded into different colors every few seconds. Everyone from Atlantis looked this exciting, even the ones who looked like they could bite people’s heads off—like this mermaid. Against her dark skin were glowing pieces of abstract designs that Harry wondered how she obtained. They reminded him of Louis’ tattoos, but they glowed a soft blue against her skin. He found them very fascinating, but this was definitely not the time to ask questions.

“Right, so, first, Phoebus of Capri,” Simon Cowell spoke. Harry straightened up even more if it were possible, looking over to the octopus who gave his attention to Simon. “It has come to our understanding you’ve been speaking to the Queen Regent for some time about the Sirens of Capri.”

“That is correct.” The octopus named Phoebus said, with a deep, but pompous echoey voice.

“We understand you and Queen Anne have been speaking back and forth, as you are the spokesperson for the siren community, about a request the late King Desmond has had for some time?” The octopus nodded. “And that is to have peace between merfolk and sirens.” Oh, that was nice.

“Indeed, my dear Hand.” The octopus said. “I’ve spoken to the leader of the siren community with proposals on how they’d be willing to achieve this.”

“And?” Richard Griffiths asked, already sounding defensive.

“The only way the sirens would accept peace between the merfolk is if a siren and merperson of royalty,” the octopus shot Harry a look. Harry’s heart immediately started racing at this. _No. This can’t be._ This _couldn’t_ be going where it was going. “were to join houses and rule as one. And, of course, the official banishment be abandoned forever.” No, no, no, _no_. Gemma was going to hate this. Harry _already_ hated this. He wanted to shout from the top of his unneeded lungs every word he could think of that could mean _NO._ This could not, would not _stand_.

Harry wasn’t even aware that people were looking to him. The entire _room_ was silent. He couldn’t do this, whatever they were about to ask. “Harry, darling.” His mother spoke softly, taking hold of his upper arm gently. Harry jolted on the stump of coral he was sitting on, looking up at his mother and feeling far too small for this stressful title. “Did you hear Simon?”

“I’m sorry?” Harry’s head spun over to look at the Hand. “I deeply apologize.” Simon smiled kindly, but his eyes glinted with smugness, a silent _I told you so. Keep up,_ shooting back at Harry. Harry returned the harsh glare. “What was it that you had said?”

“I said it was a fantastic idea. The merging of two cousin species that have once been one would only strengthen us.” Harry swallowed. “It would benefit the entire Atlantic in so many ways and would send a message to the rest of the oceans, too, to allow sirens back into their lives as well.” Something was pulling Harry’s subconscious away. He had security in knowing he wouldn’t have to marry someone he didn’t want to anymore. _Louis_. They did kiss. They’ve been speaking through rolled up letters stuffed in a glass bottle shared between the two. They cared for each other, right?

Although, no, it wasn’t like Harry wanted to marry Louis. At the end of the day, he’d only physically met him once. He wanted to get to know the person he’d want to meet. Being able to marry Louis as an option was just something he wanted, that maybe he could eventually start some sort of relationship with Louis for real if he knew he _could_ marry him. The point was to be able to be with whomever he wanted. He felt like everything about him was tearing down.

“We’ve decided to begin breaking ancient traditions of arranged marriages to only royals and nobles.” Harry spoke, his voice once again holding himself up. “For my sister _and_ myself. I’m sorry, but we’re not going to participate with that. There must be another way.”

The octopus shook his head. “I am sorry, Your Grace. They were very clear about this only condition.”

Harry was about to deny it all. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. His father dying wasn’t supposed to happen. Things were supposed to be _okay_ now because the worst had already happened. Harry’s hard expression didn’t change as he thought this over. He looked over at his mother, whose swam with apologies. No, he knew this wasn’t her fault. Harry knew his father did his best to get peace going through the entire Atlantic and that included peace between merfolk and sirens. It was actually his biggest goal, and that had Harry nearly sobbing at the thought. 

His eyes lowered for a moment. A part of him that was far too strong and overpowered any selfish need had him leaning towards agreeing. He swallowed thickly, thinking of Gemma. She would hate this even more than he did. Somehow, she would. She always did. Maybe it was because she was the princess and it made things harder just by that mere fact, or maybe because she was secretly with someone _already_. Honestly, Harry had no idea. All he knew was that whatever he agreed with, Gemma wasn’t going to get on the losing end, either.

“I will agree to this… proposal.” He felt his heart sink, heard his mother sigh beside him. Simon nodded approvingly. “On one condition of my own.” Phoebus slowly looked at him curiously and skeptically. Harry lifted his head high. He had to harden his heart. That was all. Just keep hardening it and hardening it until he could bear every fucking burden that came his way. “Gemma will still be free to marry who _she_ chooses. _I_ will merge houses with the siren house with the highest status to their name.” It sounded disgusting for him to say this. He wanted to swallow everything he’d just said and throw it up so it meant nothing. It didn’t sound anything like him, but just as the king he was supposed to be. He wanted to do right by his father, honor his memory, _everything_. If his father was trying to bring peace between their two species, then so be it. If it was going to benefit the Atlantic, and even _all_ the oceans, then so be it. Harry’s romantic and marital freedom was a fine sacrifice he was willing to take. It was the least he could do.

Phoebus clapped his tentacles together joyously. “Oh, how simply _marvelous_ , Your Grace! Simply marvelous! That can definitely be arranged and Gemma will not have to agree to this herself. Perfect!” Harry didn’t smile. “I will give word to the Averosi family. They would offer Aeron, who is the daughter of the leader of the entire siren population…” Phoebus the white spotted octopus talked much more animatedly now, giving off information about sirens and the Averosi family and Aeron, but Harry shut his voice out, as rude as that was.

Apparently friends was all he and Louis were going to be. Louis, who he missed so much each and every day, who he believed to be an absolute wonder on his own, the personification of the purple sunrise itself, a walking, talking dream come true, an exciting, funny, beautiful, and selfless being. Harry wanted a chance with him. As much as the letters covered, as much as Harry trusted Louis, it didn’t compare to what spending real time with Louis could be like, getting to know him face to face better and better as days went by and growing so comfortable that his heart would, in theory, swell.

Harry couldn’t push that. He couldn’t do that, couldn’t ever kiss him again or anything, but he wasn’t going to stand to not ever seeing him again. Regardless, Louis was his friend. They could do it. Harry had to do it. Harry had to do a lot of things he didn’t want to, so this wasn’t going to be any different, and at least Louis was still going to be in his life. That’s all that mattered. It would be okay… right?

He didn’t know.

Why as he thinking about this? He shouldn’t. His dad had wanted peace between merfolk and sirens. This was a dying wish or something. He had to adhere to that. His thoughts should be with his father and his needs always. What Harry wanted was now irrelevant. That much was far too clear. _I’m a terrible person. A terrible, selfish person._

He could vaguely hear his mother talking with false, but passable enthusiasm to the octopus named Phoebus and Harry couldn’t bear it. He wished she never promised him and Gemma that they could choose who they could love. _Twice, even._ It wasn’t fair to be let down about something as important as that. It affected his life, damn it. Before father left for Atlantis, he, his mother, Gemma and himself were so happy talking about them marrying commoners in theory and how funny it would be to train their future spouse in social etiquette practices and other courtesies. 

And now, the royal engagement was back on again to a _siren_.

“Harry, sweetheart.” His mother said. Harry looked over to her. She smiled sadly, but then laughed politely. “I was just proposing that Aeron and her father could come to stay when you got back from your quest. Get to know each other and begin planning for the wedding.” What, that was it? He was already engaged? Harry had to put a lot of effort in not scrunching his nose in disgust or looking horrified. So, he instead just nodded with a forced smile. “It’ll be alright, darling! She may be incredible. After all, your father was incredible when I met him.” Well, this was true. Despite marrying for politics, Anne and Des genuinely fell in love.

That had Harry feeling the tiniest bit of better, but not really.

“If I may,” Phoebus chimed in. Harry looked over at the octopus. Anne nodded for him to continue. “Aeron Averosi is a beautiful, beautiful siren.” _Aren’t they all supposed to be? What did that matter at the end of the day?_ , Harry thought. “She’s well known throughout the siren community of Capri as one of the most intelligent and down-to-earth sirens most have ever come across.” Harry’s eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. “It is understandable that you may be… wary of marrying a siren, what with everything that’s been told about them, but my sources say that she’s lovely.” Harry’s surprised expression softened. So, the octopus didn’t meet her personally. Harry would just have to see for himself.

_It is what it is, right? Fuck._

“So be it.” Harry said. Simon nodded and the octopus bowed his huge head, thanked them for having him, and disappeared through the doorway. “Now…” He looked up at the Atlantis representative. He flashed her an easy smile, hopefully one that didn’t end up coming off as a grimace. Harry just wanted to move on from the subject of marriage and get out of this room as quickly as possible. “I do believe you have a bit of information to give me in regards to my pre-reign quest across the five oceans?”

The mermaid from Atlantis nodded slowly. Harry peered at her attentively. “Firstly, good day, my dear prince, my queen. The hearts of Atlantis are with you in your time of grieving for the late King. You have our deepest sympathies.” She spoke, her voice rich and authoritative—yes, even to Harry who would be king soon. Harry and Anne both nodded quietly as thanks. Harry bitterly pointed out that Phoebus the octopus didn’t say anything regarding the king. Harry liked the mermaid better already. Everyone in the room gave her their undivided attention. 

Harry wished Gemma was allowed in here. He definitely felt like he needed his older sister just _here._ What was the annoying rule that said the princess couldn’t attend a Small Council meeting? Harry called it bullshark.

The Atlantisian mermaid’s hard exterior softened as she smiled warmly at Harry, as if she knew Harry’s mind was on the verge of bursting into flames, reassuring him that it was all going to be okay. Harry visibly relaxed then, exhaling slowly and comfortably through his gills. “My name is Evangelina. All of your Small Council is under oath. They will not divulge information of your quest to any merperson outside of this room.” Harry nodded with a small smile. “And you must as well.”

“I swear it.” Harry said quickly, raising a hand. “Promise.” A scale bracelet flew towards him from the mermaid, snapping against his wrist. Harry blinked, shocked, and pulled his wrist down to look at the bracelet. It looked like the chain of his pearl necklace—made out of fish scales—except for the fact hat it glowed a soft silver. “What…?” Harry began, looking up at the representative from Atlantis with confusion.

“This is just to bindyou to your oath. It makes a lovely accessory, doesn’t it?” Harry smiled and nodded. “Now, let’s get started.” He sat up straight, completely alert. “You are to cross through all the oceans and back. That much has always been understood, correct?” Harry nodded confidently. Evangelina smiled. “Good. There are five precious stones you are to gather.” Harry’s brows knit together. “Each precious gem is guarded by an obstacle you must face. Gather the stones and merge them together with your oceanic powers that you _already_ have.” 

Right. Harry _did_ have powers right now, stronger than the average merperson, but they were still rather basic and not enough. Once he completed this quest, he supposedly would have a bit more… or something. Harry wasn’t sure. His father had never been one to use his magic too much. 

Overthinking the possibilities of this quest had him scared, rushed thoughts entering his head. There must’ve been a horrified look on his face because Evangelina laughed softly. “Your father and your grandfathers have done this very same thing before, sweet prince. It’s very possible once all the details are given out, I assure you.” Evangeline told him. It sounded like she was just beginning. Even without hearing the rest, this was already sounding a lot harder than Harry ever expected. He felt that Evangelina was also making it sound easier, too. What sort of obstacles did she _mean_? Surely she knew that the _entire_ ocean, combined by all the seas and ocean kingdoms, was _huge,_ right? 

“I appreciate it.” Harry told her, rather than expressing that he was indeed terrified.

“Time to elaborate.” She began. “You are to go to the Bermuda Triangle in the Atlantic, Easter Island in the Pacific, Madagascar in the Indian, Thule in the Arctic,” Harry pressed his fingers to his lips to keep from laughing. Thule, or Ultima Thule, was just Norway, he was sure. “and last but not least, you are to venture the Southern Ocean that encompasses Antarctica.” Made sense. Harry sighed out, nodding. Five locations, covering each major ocean. “All of your obstacles awaiting for you to venture into their waters. They guard the gems you must seek. To get past them will require great strength, bravery, _and_ fear. Your oceanic powers you already possess will be of great assistance.”

_Fear?_ Got that covered.

“What are these obstacles exactly?” Harry asked worriedly.

“I cannot disclose such information.” Well, fuck. “What I can tell you is that you _will_ need a couple of supplies in your travels.” She gestured her hand behind her. Everyone looked to the back of the room. Harry rose up from his seat and glided over to what was essentially a _lot_ of stuff. In the midst of it all were five small bottles filled with different liquids, a sterling silver sword, a mirror, a compass, a couple of spears, and _one scale_. It was a merperson’s scale, too. A free, free wish. Harry’s eyes widened and he looked behind him. “Many past kings have succeeded with less of these items.” Harry pressed his lips together, hearing his heart pounding through his ears. What the _barnacle_ did this quest entail? What _were_ these obstacles? Harry’s mind was far away from anything troubling him emotionally. He was engulfed with new worries, a fear of the unknown that this quest was all about. Should he expect the worst? “Keep in mind, Your Grace,” Evangelina continued. “if humans believe we don’t exist when we _do_ , what else could exist in the deepest parts of the great ocean?”

_Sea monsters._

“I accept this mission.” Harry said. It wasn’t like he had a choice. Besides, the Lord Commander, Richard, had been helping him train in basic combat in using a sword since he was small. Just in case. He guessed it was actual preparation for this moment. Harry wished he was better at using a sword.

“Here, here.” Simon Jones said, banging his palm on the table. Harry ignored the group’s praising and looked over at his mother. She smiled sadly and he swam over to her quickly, hugging her tightly. She squeezed him and Harry rested his chin against her shoulder. He had to come back. For her. For Gemma. For his own _dad_. He just had to do this. That was all.

“Look, I’ll be home soon.” He told her. “Promise.”

“You _better_ , Harry. Oh, my sweet boy.” She squeezed her arms around him again, rocking their weight from side to side. It made Harry smile just a little. She turned her head to kiss his temple. “We’ll be fine. It’ll be fine. The Hand and I will do good for the next week while you’re gone. Just don’t you dare die on us. Can’t take both of my men gone.” 

Harry’s lower lip trembled for a moment. He couldn’t. Instead, he pulled away and brought their foreheads together, forcing his mother to look into his eyes. He didn’t know if he would die, but if most kings before him haven’t, then why would _he_? “I won’t. You can count on me, mum. I love you. Have faith in me.” He gave her a smile and kissed her cheek. Anne sniffled and Harry shook his head. “Oh, don’t do that. I’ll be back before you know it.” He gave her another smile, hoping it was reassuring and reached his eyes, before he pulled from his mother and looked around at the Small Council. He smiled unsurely before heading back to the weapons that were awaiting him. There was a _lot._ Thankfully, satchels could expand to make room for as many things as needed, so this wasn’t exactly a problem. “Er, meeting dismissed, that’s all. I’ll need to get going…” He guessed he really _was_ heading out now. Honestly, Harry couldn’t wait to leave this stressful royal environment. “immediately.” He didn’t look behind him. He only gathered everything in his arms.

“Your Grace,” they all said simultaneously. Harry could hear people leaving the room as he curled his tail up, as if to make a lower arc he could balance everything on. That wouldn’t work, though, or else he wouldn’t be able to swim freely. Puffing out a frustrated sigh, Harry set everything down and put his hands on his hips.

He could always go _get_ his satchel and come back. That seemed much more logical.

When he turned around, he saw that everyone had gone. Even his mother. Harry’s lips went into a tight line as he swam out of the room, too, making his way back towards his own. Liam and Niall had most likely gone back to their duties—or, hopefully, Griffiths was giving them their notice that they could go on vacation—and so Harry was left alone. He grabbed his satchel that was placed in a corner of his room. He hurried to where he kept his kelp and seaweed because those were essential to simply take care of himself. Harry looked around his room and nodded tightly, knowing nothing else would be of importance on his journey.

He quickly went back into the Council Chamber to stuff everything in his satchel. Things shouldn’t fit in there, and yet, the inside simply expanded to accommodate everything Harry packed inside while the outside of the satchel looked unaffected by its inside contents. It was one of the most convenient things created in the sea. Harry could hear his mother making an announcement up from her balcony, saying that the prince, her son, their future king, would go through the King’s Quest today. When he had said 'immediately', he meant it. She knew he was going to set off now rather than tomorrow. He couldn’t delay it.

His mother also reassured the people outside that if they believed King Des was a fantastic king, that Harry wouldn’t disappoint. Harry’s shoulders slumped and he looked down sadly. He didn’t like the reminder of his dad dying. Just when he’d been fussing over what would happen on the quest, distraught emotions crawled back into him overwhelmingly.

He couldn’t be weak.

Swinging the satchel over his shoulder, Harry turned to see that he wasn’t alone.

“Hey, you.” Gemma spoke, her arms crossed as she leaned against the doorway, her purple tail swishing lazily beneath her. “Had to wait until everyone was gone. Don’t know why I can’t be allowed in here, really. I have many problems with tradition. Will you fix some of them?” She asked, smiling knowingly.

Harry laughed softly, swimming over to her. “‘Course. First thing on the list as king. Break some of the rules.”

Gemma laughed. “After all, whoever made these current rules had to have changed the rules that came before, right?” Harry loved his older sister. She had a point. “The moment you’re able to form your own Council, I know you’ll be able to do great things.”

“Yeah, sure, but that is if I come out of this alive.” Harry reminded her.

Gemma rolled her eyes. “You will. Dad did.” Harry swallowed. “And… I mean, obviously others in our family did if we’re here, alright? Calm down. Get your strategy and all, let’s talk about the good things. Like… how much you’re going to miss me. _Obviously_.” It was nice to know that the laugh that came from Harry wasn’t forced. “Or how if you have time, you’re going to get me a tail dress from Atlantis. The one with the little beads? Or a top with little beads? Something for my hair…” 

“Alright, alright, I’ll get you something if I get that chance.” Harry gave her a smile. 

Gemma pointed a finger at him. “And don’t die. No one… has room for that. Not again. You can’t.” Harry could see her eyebrows knit together sadly. She did her best to stay strong, too. It had worked for the most part, but Harry had gone to check on her a week ago and she’d been sobbing. Harry, of course, comforted her with a warm hug. “You…” She looked behind her for a moment, making sure no one was near them before looking back to Harry, her face hard with insistence. “You _fucking_ hear me? You don't die.” Her voice lowered and Harry lunged at her, only to hug her tightly. He felt her arms crush around him and she let out a tiny sob. “Okay?”

“Okay, Gemma. I hear you. Promise I’ll come back.” Harry said, turning his head to kiss her cheek. “Okay? Yeah?” He asked, and Gemma nodded against him before pulling away hesitantly. “Like you said, everyone else came out all right. And I promise. I’m coming back.”

“You better.” Gemma told him. “Now get out of here already, will you? Don’t have so much time.” She was right. He had to go. Harry nodded tightly, hugging her quickly again before actually swimming around her to leave.

He swam from the room and headed out of the palace, trying to keep as low-key as he could possibly be. He rushed away to head to his secret grotto. Thankfully, since everyone was, for the most part, paying attention to his mother, it was very easy to sneak away. He pulled the large rock away from the entrance and sealed himself inside it. His eyes trailed up the narrow grotto as he hovered just in the middle of it. Rocky shelves with _little boats_ , human accessories, maps, mirrors, drink glasses, photos and other bric-a-brac alike surrounded him. Harry smiled, feeling comfortable in the grotto. It was _his_ place. No one could get into it. He could be ever so free to be how he wanted to be here and admire the little artifacts from the human world he’d managed to collect, albeit most having had been found from sunken shipwrecks.

He grabbed the black and green sandals Louis had gotten him and immediately lightly hummed in delight. The ‘adidas’ letters might as well have said ‘Louis’ instead. They just reminded him of Louis, Louis, Louis. Louis _actually_ bought these for him to use whenever he was up on land. They were _his_. The other little boats he’d gotten were all snatched, and as much as they were now his, these sandals were _really_ his. From Louis. Harry sighed dreamily and stuffed them into his satchel. He also grabbed a music box—which was very special to him. It had the most unique sound, like how Louis’ voice was unique and lovely—a brush for his hair, his copy of _The Prince and the Pauper_ by Mark Twain, which he had to be very careful with, and all of Louis’ letters that they’d shared in the past three months.

Harry looked around his grotto before deciding he was all set. He could very well set off. He left the grotto and pushed back the rock to cover the opening. When he turned, he was surprised to see Jackie and Evan, his dolphins, waiting for him just there. Jackie cried out softly in greeting and Harry pet her snout. “Hello.” He said, and Evan nudged his nose gently into Harry’s arm. Something was in his mouth, and Harry’s heart leapt and skipped a beat in excitement.

He took hold of the glass bottle that Evan was holding from the neck between his teeth. He uncapped the bottle and stuck his pinky inside, sliding the rolled up paper out from it. As he nudged the bottle between the inside of his bicep and his side, he opened up the short letter from Louis, his eyes softening immediately.

_Dear Harry,_

_I’ll wait for you at the rocks tomorrow midday. I’ll talk to my boss, Carl, to see if I can work at the shack just in the morning and I’ll stay at the beach, waiting for you. We can go for a walk. Anything. Whatever you need, I’m here for you. If you want some ice cream, even, I’ll get you that, too. Actually, I think ice cream might do you good. I’ll get you chocolate and vanilla as I don’t know what you’ll prefer. I’ll do my best to make it better and you can unleash everything to me._

_Always in my heart, Harry Styles_  
Yours sincerely,  
Louis Tomlinson.

“Oh…” Harry whispered, hugging the piece of paper to his chest with the flat of his hands. “Did you just… did you just come back from the shore?” He asked. Evan nodded enthusiastically. An excited, quiet giggle came from Harry as he placed the bottle and letter into his satchel. “Do you think he’s still there?”

“Yes, little prince.” They answered simultaneously. Oh, he was going to miss being called that.

“I was actually wondering something,” Harry said. “Would you two like to accompany me on my quest?” They both did loop-de-loops in the air out of joy. Harry chuckled, taking that as a yes. “And I understand you have manatee friends and even some shark friends? Do you think you two could ask them if they could join us, too?” 

“Of course!” Evan said, nodding and nudging Harry affectionately. Harry petted him lightly. “We’ll do so now.”

“Of course!”

Harry kissed their rubbery skins. “Thank you so much, I really appreciate everything you do for me. Thank you so much. Thank you.” He joined his hands together as if he were about to pray, and he pressed them to his mouth and jut them forward, his eyes laced with sincerity. “Really, you deserve the world, both of you.”

“Anything for you, Harry!” Jackie told him, and Evan circled around him before they both swam away. He was so grateful for them. Harry watched as they disappeared into tiny dots further into the ocean, and Harry swam off the other way. For once, he didn’t have to sneak beneath the walls of the kingdom. That was a shock on its own, but everyone knew Harry was leaving now. Guards that weren’t Niall or Liam wished him good luck as he swam off,and he gave them a thanks from over his shoulder.

He should’ve known that the sea critters at the reef would’ve heard about him by now. Word traveled fast. The moment he merged with its business and teeming life, everyone halted where they were to stare. It made Harry pause and smile bashfully. “Oh, no, carry on, please.” He said, looking around him. Before anyone could actually say anything, the sand beneath him rumbled lightly, dusting up above and in the water as a very familiar flounder appeared. Harry looked down, smiling as the flounder swam around him in a circle. “Oscar!”

“Just wanted to wish you luck, little prince. And, uh, do ya think you could get me some—“ The flounder began, but was cut off suddenly by another familiar voice.

“Oh no you don’t, Oscar!” Frank the sea turtle scolded, swimming over besides him, following the circular path around Harry. Harry giggled, and then, the entire reef was filled with laughter. Frank and Oscar were always at it. Harry followed them both with his eyes, amusement glinting in them. “You don’t dare ask the prince for anything, you here? He’s got enough on his plate already what with the quest and his—“

“Shhhhhhhhhhut your toothless barnacle hole!” Oscar spat out. Harry sighed. Here it was. Be strong. The entire reef was literally watching him or watching these two old geezers fight again. Harry smiled tightly. “I was just going to ask for one of those Atlantis scale sets…”

Harry cleared his throat. The sea turtle and flounder stopped immediately. Harry smiled at them warmly. “I have no problem getting anyone anything they may want, Oscar. It’s no problem. And, really,” he swam over to them and placed one hand on Frank’s head and his other on Oscar’s left side, turning him around so the side his eyes were on faced him. “While I’m gone, please behave. _Please_?” Not that Harry expected it, but if he came back and found that Oscar’s eyes or Frank’s shell were missing, it’d be a huge mess.

“Of course, Your Grace.” Frank said, slapping Oscar on his side. “We’ll behave. _Won’t we, Oscar_?” Harry couldn’t help the small laugh. As old as these two were, they definitely acted pretty juvenile. He supposed it had to do because they were always cranky.

Oscar huffed. “Fine, fine. We’ll behave.” Harry raised an eyebrow and Oscar swirled about before digging himself beneath the sand again. “I’ll just stay here until you come back, that’s all.”

Harry shook his head at them with a roll of his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. “If you wish it.” He said, and waved an arm as an overall goodbye before he continued kicking his tail forward, towards the shore he missed oh so very much. That interaction was without a doubt the nicest thing that had happened all day since Liam and Niall.

He could see the ground rising way before he got near the shore. So, Harry carefully bolted upwards, his tail wiggling beneath him, and he let his head break out from the water. Straight ahead was land, sand, the familiar grey wall, and people lounging on the beach and swimming along the shore. Harry was far out, sure that no one could see him, but the sight of the beach had him smiling with a rush of relief flowing through him. He ducked back down and dove lower before continuing onward, heading for the right side of the beach where the rocks and low cliff started.

Harry’s heart hammered with anticipation. The rocky pathway that sunk into the water lined his left, and he lifted his head up again. Louis wasn’t here. His tail curled inward, pressing against the rocks as he hoisted himself up onto them. Looking down, Harry saw his iridescent tail softly illuminate with his excitement, so he pulled his tail up, too, with his hands, and lifted it just above the water. He looked behind him to make sure no one was looking at him and sighed in relief to see that no one _was_. With oceanic powers came the power to dry out easily and quickly, so Harry did. His tail lightened up immediately, only to turn into legs, and Harry pulled them up just with his leg muscles so they didn’t touch the water. His shorts were on, too, and Harry chuckled to himself, amused that the promise of shorts were always there.

Giddily, Harry pulled out his sandals and turned so he could stretch his legs out on the pathway before slipping the black and green sandals on. With a delighted hum, Harry secured his satchel’s handle on his shoulder and carefully got up to his feet. His legs wobbled a bit and Harry lowered himself to a slight crouch with his arms out in front of him, the tips of his fingers pressed hard against the rocks. He exhaled slowly and lifted himself up once more, his legs shaking again, but Harry willed them to be straight, his feet flat on the ground, and he stood tall.

A watery, mystical echo filled the air around him as he whispered a quiet, “Phew,” and Harry’s eyes widened. _Whoops_! He was on land. Human language, human language, get back to that. “Phew.” The low drawl of his rich voice vibrated gently against his throat. He smiled brightly to himself and stepped forward, making his way towards the cliffs and sand on the left before carefully stepping down. 

_Now what?_

Harry kept walking, a little closer to where all the tiny camps of people were scattered about on the beach. His eyes searched around for the familiar face of Louis Tomlinson, but he did not appear. He pressed his lips together tightly, thinking he should maybe just turn around and head back. Stay in the water. Wait for Louis. He could sleep just against the rocks against the bottom there, snag a few pieces of mussels or oysters. Just thinking about food had his stomach rumbling. Oh! He didn’t know what to _do_! Why did he even leave? It was stupid of him.

He noticed many people lying down. Maybe he could lie down. Harry was actually getting a bit self conscious. He must look silly standing there, doing nothing. Cautiously, he lowered himself to the ground and sat down. He looked over at the people again and tilted his head as he studied a few of their positions. One of them looked comfortable, maybe, and Harry bent his legs a little. He hunched forward and rested his forearms on his knees, looking out at the water, at the horizon.

Well, this wasn’t bad at all.

It was actually really peaceful. He could feel the sun beating against his skin pleasantly and could smell the sea. Harry loved it. The sounds of gulls filled his ears and caught his vision if they flapped around the sky above him. The waves were calm, but not subtle, and Harry just _looked_ ; Really, really _looked._ People applied some white… cream on themselves and each other. Some lay on their stomachs or their backs. Most wore dark shades over their eyes—Harry had a pair somewhere in his grotto—and some people, mostly kids, were playing with the sand. Harry’s eyes widened as he saw a small, plastic bucket be lifted up and a perfect shape take place _from the sand_. 

How did they do these things? It simply wasn’t fair. They were so creative. 

He could see a white cart going around and kids whooping with joy as it came along. They tugged on their parents’ arms and pointed at the cart and Harry didn’t understand the excitement at all, but at least they were excited. It was cute to see. Harry chuckled to himself, looking straight ahead again and yawning sleepily.

This was bad. He couldn’t be out here alone for too long doing nothing. If he stopped observing and being in awe at everything around him, he would eventually end up thinking about his father and he wouldn’t be happy. And then, he’d scold himself for wasting time, doing nothing, when he could be heading off on his quest. But he couldn’t. He had to ask Louis about a boat. That was why he had to see him officially. Everything else was because of want.

But he couldn’t want Louis anymore.

Harry didn’t know how long he stayed there, staring out at the ocean. His toes had dug into the sand at some point, grains going between them and tickling his skin. A little blue crab crawled across his feet and had sent him into a fit of giggles. The crab said “Hello, little prince!” in a squeaky voice and that was that. It wasn’t so bad, really, even if he thought about his dad, because the beach was simply so _calming_. Harry figured he could probably fall asleep sitting up like this if he really tried.

And he did. His eyes had closed for all of five minutes, but he was still very awake and alert of the world around him. At some point, his brain decided to make him super aware that clothes were touching his skin and that his hair was, too, and that it was dry, and Harry couldn’t stop realizing it. Weird how that happened. Intrusive thoughts were so strange. Though, everything stopped when he heard something draw near him and someone clear his throat beside him.

Harry opened one eye and turned his head to see the white cart right next to him. “Are you Harry?” His eyes lifted up to a man who looked a little like a skeleton, his eye sockets and cheekbones horrifyingly prominent along his long face, but his smile and old eyes reassured Harry that he was just a person and was friendly. Harry licked his top lip nervously before nodding with a quiet _mm-hmm._ “You have a friend, I guess. Said to get you one ice cream. What flavor would you like?”

Harry’s mouth opened and closed like a fish, not knowing what to say. He didn’t even know what ice cream _was,_ let alone what flavor he could possibly want. “Er…” he began, but just shrugged greatly. “I couldn’t… couldn’t tell you.” He bit his lip bashfully. 

“It’s all right. He said you never had ice cream, so, we have… chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mint chocolate chip, cookie dough, dulce de leche, sea salt—”

“What was that?” Harry asked suddenly, his eyes lighting up with glee. “The last one. Sea salt?”

“Sea salt, yes.” 

Harry could only smile and nod with a whispered, “Yeah.” and before he knew it, a light turquoise popsicle was in his hand. Harry held it by the stick at the bottom, because that’s how the old man had given it to him, and Harry didn’t know what to do with it. He tapped it with his finger, feeling it was very cold. Some of it was dripping and Harry gasped.

The man chuckled. “You lick it, son.”

Harry’s lower lip jutted out in an unsure pout before he licked at the popsicle experimentally. He hummed delightedly, feeling the perfect blend of sugar and saltiness and… something _else_ he couldn’t describe. His eyes widened in surprise as he looked up at the man, but he smiled. What was this _taste_? It was such a burst of flavor that Harry kept humming, swaying left and right, feeling like a kid. And that was the thing, merfolk were generally filled with joy that it was difficult not to be this way, even when he should be sad. 

“It’s so… good, it’s good!” Harry grinned, licking at his ice cream some more. “Thank you so much for this. What will I…” He realized he didn’t have currency. He remembered Louis said they used _paper_ money—which was absurd to him—and he didn’t have that at all. An apologetic look crossed his features. “Oh,” he began, mouthing at the popsicle before licking his lips and continuing. “I’m sorry, I don’t… have, erm, money.”

The man chuckled and shook his head, waving a hand dismissively at Harry. “Don’t worry, you’re all covered!” And with that, the man whistled and carried the cart away from him.

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**L**

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It was very, very slow today. That only meant that summer was coming to an end. Louis yawned as he counted the cash in the register. He yawned again, feeling a little sleepy, but looked out the glassless window to the outside. It looked so nice today. As much as he loved the shack, he couldn’t wait for his shift to end so he could chill out on the sand for a little bit. Maybe take a nap. Or, well, if he actually had the energy, he’d go ahead and surf. The only thing was that Louis didn’t bring his board today, so that wasn’t going to happen. He was completely fine with just napping, anyway.

People usually came in for shirts, towels, skirts, sand toys or other souvenirs like mugs or thermoses now. The surfboards and paddles remained up on the walls for the most part. Louis was the definition of relaxed. He could run the whole shop for hours on his own… and he did. Today. It wasn’t even a big deal, honestly. He just could and was happy to do it.

Carl came through the door and shuffled inside. Louis peered up and smiled at him. “How’d the ice cream stand do today?” He asked, quickly glancing at his phone for the time. Louis’ time was up. He looked up as Carl came to stand beside him.

“Your friend is here.” He said. Louis’ eyebrows quirked, his eyes swimming with hope. Carl smiled and chuckled warmly before nodding. “Brown curly hair, green shorts, black and green adidas sandals. And I do think you told me he was fit so I had to guess.” He couldn’t believe it. Harry was here. What was he _doing_ here? Didn’t he say he’d come tomorrow? Louis licked his lips, looking around the shop and breathed out slowly. He hadn’t even known he’d been holding his breath. “Got the sea salt ice cream.”

“Did he?” Louis laughed softly, looking down with a horribly uncontrollable smile.

Carl crossed his arms and nodded sagely. “Mmmmhm.” Louis peeked over at him with a question in his eyes. He and Carl had known each other for as long as Louis could remember. Carl loved the beach. Worked on it all the time. The kids that grew up here all got to know him like some second grandpa. It was nice, too, because he was sure Carl saw those now young adults—like Louis—as his grandkids, too. He lived alone and his family lived far, far away. His wife was dead, and so, well, the grown up kids were all Carl had. Them, and the beach, at least. “You can take as long as you need off.”

Louis shook his head softly. “No, no, don’t say that. I’ll probably need a day or two, honestly. If I need more for some reason I’ll let you know, but honestly, you do so much here and…” Louis shrugged, looking out the window again. “It _is_ still technically summer. So as long as the weather is moderately warm and the waves aren’t frozen over, you’re gonna need as much help as you can get.” Carl opened his mouth to protest already, but Louis wasn’t having it. Stubborn, stubborn old man, Carl was. “Hey.” He said, crossing his arms. “This beach is your life. It’s okay to have help. You literally took over Kelly’s job today because she was sick. You do _so much_ , mate, it’s all right to have us help you.”

Carl was old, is what he was saying, and he, Zayn, Kelly, Olivia, Erica, Stan, and Pauly and other kids his age Louis didn’t speak to did their best to help out. It was the least they could do, after all. Carl was the guy who would give them ice cream and tell them about how he used to ride the waves when he was younger. It was just all so much that Carl’s done, just because they all happened to live near this beach and went to it a lot since forever.

So, yeah, Louis wasn’t having Carl’s stubbornness about this.

Carl gave Louis a lopsided smile and patted him on the shoulder, squeezing gently. “Alright. Well, get outta here, son, your shift’s done.” Louis smiled, grabbed his bag and his phone before wrapping his arms around the old man. Someone had come in—a boy and his parents. “Later, Louis.” Carl said when Louis hesitated, wanting to take care of these customers before he left. Louis huffed out a quiet scoff and grinned as he nodded sarcastically at his boss before walking from the back of the counter and out the door.

Louis weaved through the camps of people, consciously fixing his fringe. It was a tad windy out, but nonetheless still warm. The sky had been going back and forth from grey to blue a lot in the past month—and Louis was pretty sure as to _why_ —but today, it was a bright blue, too, albeit with a few fluffy white clouds. Not too shabby at all. Louis was pleased. Maybe that meant Harry was in a good mood today. 

God, Harry was _here_. It’d been so long since he’d seen him. He actually missed him so very much that it scared him a little bit. The letters helped loads, sure, but if anything, they somehow made Louis miss him more just because it was Harry. It was all Harry, and he’d learned more about him in the past three months. It was true what they said about the heart growing fonder. Louis couldn’t think of the quote for the life of him, but he definitely knew that his heart had grown fonder from communicating with him across worlds.

Louis saw him.

He shoved his phone in his pocket and hitched his bag up on his shoulder, walking a little faster. Harry was here. He was _here_. Oh, but why did he have to _wait_ for him? Louis felt terrible. He was careful not to walk so fast that it turned into a run. He didn’t want to kick sand at people, of course, but he just drew closer and closer. Louis walked quietly up behind him before carefully setting his bag on the sand and sitting right behind Harry.

Harry’s body was sinful, but that was an afterthought.

He smiled, looking around him to see that he was wearing his sandals. It warmed his heart. Louis gently lifted his hand up and tapped at his shoulder. Harry jumped and turned around slowly with a hard, quizzical look, his popsicle in his mouth, but Louis only smiled so much that his eyes crinkled at the sides. Harry’s expression suddenly changed to elated surprise. His vibrant green eyes widened and a smile was making its way onto his face. 

“I see you’ve gotten my ice cream present.” Louis said gently. "I mean, I thought it was going to get to you  _tomorrow_ , but today's okay, too. The sooner, the better."

“Louis!” Harry pulled his half eaten ice cream out and looked around, looking unsure. “I can’t put this in the sand but I have to hug you…”

“Uh…” Louis frowned, opening his bag to peer inside it. His wetsuit was in there—ridiculous that he remembered that but not his board—a book about marine animals, a manuscript for music, a thermos filled with tea, loose change, his wallet, and a towel. “Here. I won’t use this today, so…” He said, pulling out his wet suit and setting it on the sand before standing up. 

Harry carefully placed his popsicle on it, motioning for it to stay. Harry smiled happily with his little hum he does that is so terribly endearing that Louis might burst. Louis held his hands out in case Harry needed them, but he just hopped up. Ah, yes. Harry was taller than him. How could he forget? They looked at each other for a moment, and Louis was so happy that his stomach simply fluttered ridiculously. He looked just as radiant as he remembered. Soft, full, curly hair down a bit past his shoulders, broad chest, broad shoulders, broad everything, a dimply smile that drove Louis crazy and the softest jade eyes he ever did see in his life.

They hugged each other at the same time. Louis hugged him so hard that he could feel Harry very lightly jolted, and his body arched up into him, his eyes shutting happily with a huge smile, his chin resting up against Harry’s shoulder. Harry shifted his weight left and right and Louis did the same. He felt Harry’s arms squeeze him gently and Louis was so thankful Harry wasn’t looking at his face. His own smile was about to tear it apart, so instead, Louis tightened his arms around him affectionately, too.

They pulled away, but Harry’s hands slid over his arms. “Right, yes! I remember these. Your tattoos. How do you do it?”

“With a needle.” Louis said, only to laugh at Harry’s grimace. “It’s not so bad, actually.” He looked down, feeling Harry’s thumb gently press against the skin of his arm. Louis let Harry turn his arm so the inside of it faced him more. He tapped his thumb on the words “given a chance” and Louis looked up to see his face, which was a cross between admiration and extreme interest. “Do you like it?”

“Love it, Lou. It’s lovely. They all are.” Louis preened at the compliment, his smile bright. He didn’t know just how long they looked at each other. Honestly, it didn’t matter. Louis was fine gazing into eyes that resembled a forest that people would consider it a privilege to get lost in. Harry sucked in a breath and let it out comfortably, his dimples making an appearance as he smiled in a way that was too much for Louis. “It’s really good to see you.”

Louis’ eyes softened impossibly more. “It’s so good to see you, too.” A look of worry crossed his features as he remembered Harry’s father was dead. “How are you doing?” He asked, just as Harry sat back down and took his sea salt ice cream back. Louis looked down at Harry before sitting right next to him, reaching behind to carefully fold his wetsuit over itself and stuff it back in his bag. “Hmm?” He asked, looking back at him.

“I’m alright.” Harry said, humming at the taste. “What is this that I’m tasting, Lou?” He asked, his tongue licking at any ice cream that was dripping. “I mean, I can taste the saltiness. Familiar. Then there’s… Louis, there’s something else and it contrasts so much, I’m in love with this thing.” His eyes lightened up happily. Louis beamed, a gentle laugh sounding from him.

“It’s sweet.” He said. “Sweetness. I think they make it with a bit of vanilla and cream and sugar and all that good…” Harry looked at him confusedly. “Human food, Haz.” Of course, Louis did notice that Harry avoided the question by answering far too quickly and switching to a different subject. Louis wasn’t satisfied with it. How could he be when Harry’s letters broke his heart? It didn’t make sense. He watched Harry bite into the popsicle and suddenly go rigid.

“Cold.” Harry observed, though his voice was muffled.

Louis chuckled. “Yeah, ‘course it is. It’s alright. You won’t die.” He patted Harry’s shoulder, gently serious. “Harry?” Harry closed his lips around the bite he took and grimaced, biting slowly into it still before he swallowed. “How are you?” 

Harry looked at him, the light in his eyes dimming a little. He smiled in a way that was more or less trying to reassure Louis that he was fine. “Good, Louis. Really. It’s good seeing you. I missed you a lot.” Louis raised his eyebrows at him. Harry sighed. “It’ll be okay.” He swiped his tongue along the popsicle stick that remained before sticking it in the sand. “I just… it’s a lot, I’m not trying to really think about it so much. I’ve got something to do now, after all. I can’t let my dad’s death interfere with it. There’s not a lot of time left, you know? I mean, thank you.” Louis searched his eyes. All that seemed to be in them now was sincerity and he was sure he could see stress aching within them, too. “For asking and everything, you know. I know… you know this, how it feels, but I can’t… think about that right now.” He smiled apologetically, a dimple appearing beside the lifted corner of his mouth.

“Promise you’re alright?” Louis asked, crossing his legs. 

“Promise.” Louis nodded silently. “Lou?” He hummed questioningly in response. “I have stuff to do.”

That was right. A quest of some sort, if Louis remembered correctly. “Yeah, you told me. What does that mean? Like, what’s it all about? Didn’t you say something about how you can’t risk the exposure of your world and have to do this thing _now_?” Harry nodded, pressing his thumb and index fingers into closed eyes. “Can you elaborate a little? Is it safe? Can I do anything to help you? I mean, I do know a bit about the ocean, after all.” Louis smirked, trying to look proud about that. It seemed to have brought Harry’s spirits up a little as a deep chuckle sounded from him. 

“It’s pretty interesting. A bit complicated. I’ve got some stuff, too, to take with me and everything, but at the end of the day, I’m going to have to do it all on my own.” Louis’ folded legs lightly fluttered in their butterfly-sitting position to express his excited anticipation. Harry giggled and shrugged. “I have to get… some, like, stones? Or gems or something. Five. And… they’re found, one in each ocean.”

_What_?!

Louis’ eyes widened. “What? You’re barking. Going through all the oceans?” He looked up in thought, thinking about them all. How was Harry going to get around what was pretty much the oceanic world in due time? It sounded urgent, too, whatever this was, and knowing humans, someone was bound to be lurking in the deeper waters today and tomorrow and forever. “How long do you have to do this thing?”

“A week. Give or take.” Harry looked at Louis uncertainly.

“ _Harry_! God, what’re you doing here talking to me? Your people need you to do this thing now!” Louis told him in a loud whisper. He didn’t want anyone actually listening on in their conversation. They’d think they were mad.

Harry exhaled harshly. “That’s the thing, Lou. I have to talk to you. I have to ask you a question. I mean, at first, you know, when I wrote to you…” Harry turned so his body faced Louis. Louis did the same, their right sides facing the ocean. “It was because I needed to see you. I don’t know, you know? I hadn’t seen you in a long time and I missed you and my dad died, but, I can’t think about it.” Oh, lovely. At first. Louis pressed his lips into a thin line, listening intently, feeling bad, because Harry lost his father and he shouldn’t think it’s entirely about him. It wasn’t. “Not now, at least.”

Louis frowned. Did that mean Harry hadn’t properly mourned? “Harry, you have to _grieve_ …”

A look crossed over Harry’s face that could only be described as a silent, _oh well, I don’t have a choice_. And yet, Louis didn’t accept that. Harry had to have that choice on his emotions at least? It wasn’t fair. “I will. One day. Not when… when this is sitting on my shoulders, though. I’ve got to, like,” he lifted his hand out and jutted it straight forward along the side of his face. “I have to keep focused, like, I need to just get this all done.”

_Okay_. Louis nodded again, accepting that even if he didn’t want to. He had to do this. If the human world found out merfolk existed, Louis wouldn’t know what to do with himself and would probably foolishly try to do _something_. “How can I help you?” He asked, offering Harry a smile. This was such a contrast to the last time they met. It was gentle and honest, felt like time stopped for them even if the sun rose above the horizon. Just for Harry. For those moments, none of them had any responsibilities. Now, Harry was urgent and needed help. “Does this mean that I get another wish when I help you?” Harry laughed. Loudly. It brought the biggest smile to Louis’ face and he, too, threw his head back with laughter. “I’m joking!”

“I mean, sure. If you want to, yeah!” Harry said when he composed himself. He shrugged and nodded with a hum. “If you help a merperson, you get a wish. That has always been clear to you, hasn’t it?” It has, but Louis was only joking. He was fine where he was. Anything else he wished for would be selfish. Louis couldn’t do that. He could wish to see Harry more when his kingdom would need him constantly. Louis was fine. This was fine, even if the thought suddenly had him looking down at the sand between them, his laughter dying out.

Louis sighed softly. “Oh,” He looked up at Harry and shook his head. “I can’t take another wish. I won’t. I want to help you just… just to help you…” _I care about you. Of course I want to help you._ The thing was… that as Louis looked at Harry’s dimply grin, the light returning to his eyes despite the stress clouding them, and how they were just here, now, the way they were, Louis didn’t know if he could say something like that. Not really. His mind wandered back to their letters.

Every time the dolphins appeared at the rocks, Louis was ridiculously elated. His heart swelled and his smile ripped his face apart. Even more so, Louis loved what Harry wrote. Everything was beautiful—a lot like Harry himself—and when he said _anything_ remotely close to missing Louis, or praising him, Louis melted. Of course, whenever Zayn asked about why the hell he was so quiet, Louis would sneer with a comeback and tell him to fuck off.

Louis’ heart was his own place and he had happily put it on paper for a pair of dolphins to carry to Harry. Harry, he believed, had done the same.

But for some reason, Louis didn’t think he could. He didn’t want to scare Harry or add something on top of everything he had going on. It was okay. It really was. As long as Harry was _here_ , the way he was now, then that was alright with Louis. 

Some part of him was sure that Harry was just affectionate and maybe didn’t like him that way. It wasn’t like he knew about merfolk culture that much. Maybe kisses were always casual. He didn’t know. He really didn’t. Louis should stop thinking about it now, especially since Harry had said something. “I’m sorry?” Louis asked, blinking. Had he been staring into those eyes this entire time?

“I asked you if you were alright,” Harry laughed. “and I also said that if you didn’t want your wish, it would always be there for you if you helped me. I could save it for a time you need it and it will still be there because you helped me.” Louis liked that. 

“Sounds good. It’s a deal if I can help.”

Harry clasped his hands together, fingers threading between one another. He stretched his arms forward and then back so his entwined hands cradled the back of his soft head. “I, erm… I need a…” his voice trailed off, but he smiled, as if he were embarrassed just by asking. “I need a boat.” Louis blinked at him. He opened his mouth to ask, but Harry cut him off. “For the journey, you know? So a couple of, like, sea creatures can help move it faster throughout the oceans.” 

Louis frowned. “Animal labor, Harry? Really?”

“It’s not what you think. They would only have to travel behind, in front, and beside us. You don’t know the full extent of what they can do.” Louis shouldn’t be surprised and yet he was. What did that _mean_? “No… no ropes or anything to tie them to the boat or anything. It’s not needed. Not with them. I mean, Jackie and Evan literally carried a bottle with a message back and forth to us all summer.” Louis pouted lightly and shrugged before nodding. When Harry put it that way, then, well, why couldn’t they make a journey faster?

“I guess you’re right. You know them best.” Louis smiled for a moment, but then it fell quickly, his mouth twisting in thought. “I don’t know where…” His eyebrows raised and he tilted his head, his eyes looking away from Harry. “Well…”

Harry grinned. “You look like you’ve got a thought.”

“That I do, Haz.” Louis breathed out a small laugh. “Zayn. He… his parents, they… they fish.” Harry gasped, clamping his hands to his mouth. Louis gently took his wrists and lightly tugged his hands away. “I know, I know. Absolutely awful. Zayn hates to see the fish struggle, so he’s not a part of that.” Harry sighed out in relief. “But… they actually got Zayn a yacht.”

“A _what_?” Harry asked, then blinked. "Wait, I think you told me this in one of your letters."

"Right, I did. A yacht…” Louis knew that there were different types of yachts. Zayn knew more than him. Louis had actually learned how to drive Zayn’s yacht quickly when he got it a couple years back. “I don’t know. It’s just—not all boats can go through the whole ocean, you know? Not all are built for that.”

Harry hummed thoughtfully. “Because of the different types of oceans? Some are different in temperature and pressure and some are stronger than others. Storms, you know.”

“Exactly.” Louis bit his lip, taking his phone from his bag and texting Zayn.

**_LOUIS:_ ** _can your yacht go all round the world ?_

“I mean, even if it doesn’t, or something, like, I don’t know how boats work.” Harry smiled, then, and looked down at Louis’ feet. He gasped in awe. “Oh, Louis, those are nice.” His fingers tapped the soles and Louis looked up from his phone to smile at him. “I like these ones. Your little boats are always nice.” Louis’ heart swelled with fondness. The moment Harry called his shoes little boats three months ago, Louis knew that Harry would be terrible for him just by being the way he was.

“Yeah?” Louis asked, trying to bite back a smile and failing pathetically. “Should go shopping one day. They have stores dedicated to… to all the little boats you can imagine.” Harry’s head lifted up so fast that Louis was shocked he didn’t break his neck. 

Harry’s eyes were wide. “You’re pulling my tail.”

Louis laughed into his hand. “Am I? Last I checked, you traded your tail for legs. Or am I wrong?” He whispered, only teasing, but he tapped Harry’s knee, looked up and to the right thoughtfully. “Hmm, thought your tail was slimy.” He looked back at Harry with accusing, squinting eyes. “Are you not taking care of your _tail_ , Your Grace?” Harry bit his lip, his eyes shining, but his smile kept trying to break through, giving him away. Louis’ mischievous grin made an appearance, his eyebrows lifting up and down. He was the definition of teasing. “You do know you are to rub it with… with seaweed and kelp twice a day! Mm-mm, don’t know if I want a king whose tail is this dry.” 

“Oh, _you_ ,” Harry drawled threateningly. A quiet cackle began to raise out from Louis gradually and Harry lunged forward just as Louis started getting up. Harry was quick as he wrapped his arms around Louis’ tummy—which earned a sort of surprised squawk from him—and pulled him back down. Harry, it seemed, only bear hugged him from behind. Louis’ back twisted against him as Harry’s hair fell beside Louis. Harry rested his chin on Louis shoulder and squeezed his arms around him gently. “You’re silly. Stay.”

“Alright,” Louis turned his head, only to find Harry looking at him with large doe eyes. And he was so _close._ He could lean in. He could just close this tiny, tiny gap between them. Louis was determined to keep looking at those eyes, though, even if his own itched to peer at those full, pink lips. “Hi.”

“Hello.” His voice was like honey. Louis wanted to fall back into him. 

“Oh!” he shimmied from Harry’s arms, turning around again to face him as his phone vibrated in his pocket. Louis fished it out and read the text Zayn sent him—and apparently, he’d missed one from Eleanor as well, who'd just said hi.

**_ZAYN:_ ** _Yea why_

**_LOUIS:_ ** _can i borrow it?_

His response was almost instantaneous. Harry had decided to sit beside him again and peered over the phone, making Louis snort out a laugh. He was funny, always curious.

**_ZAYN:_ ** _what? why haha?_

Shit.

“‘Well, Harry the prince of the Atlantic Ocean who happens to be a merman has to go across all the oceans and he asked if I had a boat, which I don’t, but you do.’ Can’t say that. Fuck.” Louis’s lips went into thin line. “I hadn’t thought this through. Of course he was going to ask _why_ , I’m an idiot.”

“No, Lou,” Harry shook his head. Louis glanced at him before staring back at the phone, as if that would somehow make his reply come out faster. “You’re not an idiot. It’s okay if you can’t get me a boat. I figured I should at least ask.”

But Louis _could_ get Zayn’s boat. He knew he could. So he started to type again.

**_LOUIS:_ ** _you're not using it cmon i need it for a bit ! it'll come back in one piece promise_

**_ZAYN:_ ** _i just don't get what for_

**_LOUIS:_ ** _cant you just trust me I'm not reckless when it’s important! i promise ill tell you after_

Harry gasped. Louis reached out beside him and gave him a reassuring smile as he patted his arm. “I’m only joking, I won’t tell him until you let me.” Not that Zayn would believe him anyway unless Harry was there to show him it was all real. “I think his yacht’s at the marina anyway. With any luck, we can get some stuff to store in there and Zayn can tell me everything I need to know.”

**_ZAYN:_ ** _you can’t go out of random louis you haven't even planned anything_

**_LOUIS:_ ** _how do you know? coulda been planning this right under your nose. its a bit of on emergency actually i mean really wouldn't be askingg if it weren't that important_

“The sea creatures joining us could make sure our journey is fast. I only have a week. They have the ability to make sure a boat can get around all oceans during the time limit of a week if need be. And it does. Happens with chariots. I’d go on a chariot underwater but if I can have something larger with more animals at my side, it can go a lot quicker if all goes well.” Harry said, smiling proudly at himself.

Louis looked at him, impressed. “Got it all planned out, huh?”

“No, no, I thought of this stuff this morning, honestly.” Harry laughed shyly. Louis snickered, covering his mouth.

**_ZAYN:_ ** _fine_

“Fine.” Harry and Louis both read out loud at the same time. “Fine.” They whispered before looking at each other. 

“You’ve got a boat, Haz.” Louis told him, and Harry hummed joyously, breathing in so deep with excitement that his chest puffed out. “You’ve got a boat! A real one!” Louis’ voice rose with glee and Harry did something Louis hadn’t heard him do. If humming with happiness was something, this was something else. He sounded just like a dolphin. Exactly. To a t. Louis was torn from freaking out and laughing in endearment, so he covered Harry’s mouth with his hand and laughed into his other. He could feel Harry’s hot breath laughing against his palm, too.

“Got too excited, sorry.” Harry said, his voice muffled. 

Louis pulled his hand down and shook his head. “Don’t you be sorry for being you.” Harry smiled shyly once more before looking down. “Well, come on! We don’t have time to waste, right?” He asked, getting to his feet and grabbing his bag. “Oh, is that one yours?” Louis asked, pointing at Harry’s satchel.

“Louis?” 

“Hmm?”

“Will you…” Harry hesitated. Louis’ paused, looking down at him. He could feel his heart beating a touch faster in anticipation. Will he _what_? “No… no, I couldn’t ask that of you.” Harry muttered to himself, pressing his index finger to his lips thoughtfully. He looked completely thoughtful, like he was quietly fighting between something in his head.

“You can still ask, you know. Maybe I’ll say no.” Louis told him, lifting his arms up with a shrug. Harry peered up at him with a giggle. “I have to know now, too. Can’t leave me hanging like that.”

Harry grabbed his satchel and stood up to his feet, suddenly grabbing onto Louis’ forearm when his legs wobbled a little. Louis quickly grabbed onto Harry’s, helping him up and steadying him. “I was only going to ask you if you…” He paused again, almost shaking his head. Louis looked up as Harry looked down at him, seeming nervous. “I mean,” he began again. Louis smiled softly, encouragingly. “I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to come with me… on the boat.” Louis’ smile returned, slow and sure. It was nice that Harry wanted him to go. Really nice. Harry bit his lip and spoke again before Louis could even answer. “I mean, I don’t even know the first thing about boating.”

_Oh_. Okay. Louis’ smile slowly faded, but he forced it back. No, it was okay. It was fine. Harry might need him but also like his company, right? Both was fine. “Yeah,” he breathed out. “I can, sure, I can… I can go with you, yeah. I’d love to, actually.” It could be fun. Carl said he was okay to be off of work for as long as he had to be. “A week?” 

“A week.” Harry nodded. Louis shrugged, thinking he could do it. He started walking and Harry followed right beside him.

“Zayn’s yacht’s a cat. Or, properly, a catamaran. It’s really nice. He—his parents are rich, y’know, they own that fishing business and make a lot off of it so they got him this yacht for his eighteenth birthday.” Louis said as they headed to the wall. He was pretty excited, actually, for Harry to walk around and not have to worry about exposing himself. As he looked at Harry, who looked attentive, he noticed Harry seemed giddy beyond belief. “You’re excited to be up here, huh?”

Harry laughed. “That’s an understatement.” He lightly bumped Louis’ shoulder, drawing out a soft giggle from him. “I wish I knew most of what you were saying. What’s a cata… cata…”

“Catamaran. It’s a type of yacht, yeah. Real fancy, even. You can just call it a cat.” Louis hurried up the wall, his arm extended out to Harry. Harry hurried over to him and looked down at the stairs. “Just one at a time, you’re alright.” And he was. Harry walked up the steps and Louis’ hand was pressed gently on the small of his back, guiding him. “It’ll be at the docks—a marina.” 

“Marina?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. “Like the sea stars I gave you?”

Louis laughed. “Like the sea stars.”

“Lou?” Harry looked over at him as they walked along the sidewalk. “Where are we going right now?”

Louis’ eyebrows furrowed. Where _were_ they going? He’d just started heading off. He needed a plan. Louis stopped in his tracks and sucked in a deep breath, his eyes going wide. “Uuhhhhhhh fantastic question, Haz.” Louis’ head raced. He actually had to prepare for this sort of thing. Get food and make sure the yacht was okay and… and… and other things, surely. And Harry was here, too, now. He couldn’t just send him back into the water and tell him to come back in the morning. He also _wouldn’t_ because it’d been three months since they’d seen each other.

Then…

“Are we stopping?” Harry asked, and Louis was aware that Harry was a couple of steps in front of him, looking at him with confusion. He must look to be about anywhere but _there_ right now, and in a way, Louis wasn’t there until Harry spoke.

Louis reached down to curl his fingers around Harry’s forearm, turning a little to face him. “Up against the wall, we don’t want to be in the way of people.” He said, pulling Harry to the side as people past them. His cheeks puffed out for a moment before speaking. “I don’t want to send you away, that’d be rude and I’m not exactly satisfied with seeing you for a tiny bit like that.” Harry’s eyes practically sparkled along with the smile that appeared. He was breathtaking. Louis wondered how his own body was functioning enough to breathe, how it was cool and collected on the outside. “But we’ll have to go tomorrow most _likely_ … I think, at least. I mean, obviously if you have to go really soon then I’ll try to make sure everything’s set for us to leave tonight or something.”

Harry nodded. “Okay. Yeah, It’s okay if you can’t. I was, y’know, I was hoping to head out at least tomorrow, anyway. And besides, I have to make sure my dolphins come back with an answer about manatees and sharks.” Louis’ eyes widened. “To join us on our journey.” As if that made it better. Louis laughed nervously. Harry put his hands on his own hips. “Don’t you remember what I told you about sharks?”

He did, actually. That didn’t make the idea of being near one less terrifying. “Of course.” Louis continued walking and Harry matched his pace. They looked straight ahead and Louis saw Harry gazing at the cliff where they sat all night months ago. Louis wished they could go back to that night. It was such a lovely night. “Doesn’t mean I’m not nervous about the idea of a shark… being anywhere near me.”

Harry chuckled. “They’re Jackie and Evan’s friends so it’ll be okay.” Somehow, just _somehow_ , that eased Louis. He’d gotten to actually know those dolphins during the past three months. He pet them and they nudged him gently and Louis spoke to them, only to receive excited noises. When their mouths opened, it looked like they were smiling. “Speaking of which, I think I promised you something.”

“You did!” Louis grinned down at at his feet. “It’s alright, though, I’ve got to speak to your dolphins for three months. That’s more than I ever thought I’d get. And besides… once this quest is over, we can relax and ride some dolphins then.” He looked up at Harry, whose smile faded ever so lightly and he ran his fingers through his hair, shaking it lightly. Louis put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it’s gonna be alright. It’ll all be fine.” 

Harry smiled over at him and put his hand over Louis’. “I know. Thank you.” Harry squeezed his hand gently before pulling it back down. He looked over at the cliff and jumped up onto the edge of the wall.

“Careful,” Louis said, walking alongside the wall. He looked up as Harry’s arms stretched out on either side and he put one foot in front of the other carefully. Louis was so endeared. Harry loved this and he could tell. If they were going to be on a yacht for a week, Harry might need a few pieces of clothing. “Damn, there’s so much to do.”

Harry jumped down onto the cliff. Louis leaned onto the edge of the wall and smiled at him. “Can I stay here for a bit? Just until Jackie and Evan return.” Louis didn’t mind. In fact, Louis was positively astounded. The sun might be high up in the air because it was just the afternoon, but it seemed to be right behind Harry. From where he stood, Harry looked like he was glowing. Louis couldn’t help agreeing with this image. Harry’s small smile disappeared too suddenly, one of worry taking over. “Wait, will you come back for me later?”

Louis blinked at him. “What? Of course you can stay here and of course I’ll come back for you later.” He hopped up to sit on the edge, earning a delighted hum from Harry. Harry used his arms to push himself up to sit by Louis, too. His feet touched the cliff right below them and Louis’ dangled a couple of inches above it. Oh, it was just so unfair that Harry happened to be taller. “Let me get a good look at you.” He said, his voice soft. Harry twisted his upper body, the better to face Louis. “How much money do I even have right now…” He searched in his bag and took his wallet out. “Oh!” He pulled out a colorful note. “This is money. What I was talking about.”

Harry gasped and snatched it from Louis’ fingers. He held it up to his eyes, which darted across the rectangular piece of paper. “It’s so beautiful, Louis.” That sent Louis into a fit of laughter, the back of his hand flying to his mouth. “Who’s this?”

With his wallet open, Louis quickly glanced back at the note Harry had and looked back down, counting. “Charles Darwin.”

“Who’s he? Is he your king?”

Louis had to look the other way as fondness burst across his face. He licked his top lip and looked down, smiling at his wallet as he passed the notes from one hand to another, counting in his head. “No, no, he was… I think a scientist? Went to the Galapagos Islands and studied birds or something with evolution?” Harry stared at him. When he said nothing, Louis looked up at him. “What?”

“I was there some years ago when the land volcano erupted.”

“You’re shitting me. When did that happen? Were you okay? What?!”

Harry’s hands turned out, palms facing up. “I’m here, aren’t I?” _Of course, Louis. Idiot._ “I think it happened in May. Maybe… maybe six, seven years ago?” He shrugged. “We got out of there as fast as we could. Saw it happening. You know there are undersea ones, too? So, yeah, we knew to get away before it got really bad, but it was horrifying.”

Louis frowned. “What were you doing in South America in the _winter_? Or almost winter?”

“I don’t know, some sort of business. Gemma and I were kids but we hadn’t seen much of the other oceans and Gemma begged, like, ‘Can we please go?’ and we did.” Harry laughed. “Honestly, it was so long ago. I was fifteen. I’d never seen anything like that until maybe three years ago under water, but…” Louis must’ve looked horrified because Harry laughed warmly and draped an arm around his shoulders, squeezing lightly. “Lou, it’s okay. It’s done, I’m alright. Literally it was okay.”

“Horrifying thought, alright? I’m only human.” Louis pointed out. They both giggled. “Oh, man. That's incredible. Terrifying, I’m sure, but, _whoa_.”

Harry hummed in agreement before handing the ten pound note back to him. “Pretty wild.”

“I’m going to get you clothes. More shoes.” Louis whispered, taking the note back and putting it in his wallet.

“You _can’t_!”

“I’m going to. You wanted a boat, might as well get some clothes.” Louis said. Harry huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. Louis tried to ignore the fact that his arm was no longer around him. “Don’t be stubborn! I’m just going to get you... I don't know, some shorts and some shirts and maybe, like…” He raised his eyebrows up and down before looking at Harry’s feet. Harry followed his gaze and his mouth dropped to the floor.

“More?”

Louis beamed. “Yeah, why not? I did good with these, huh?” He asked, lightly kicking Harry’s foot. Honestly, getting those sandals was a shot in the dark. It wasn’t like Harry had had feet for Louis to go by before buying them. It was pure luck. “Actually, hang on. Alright. Stand up, in front of me.” Harry did so, walking on the cliff so he could stand in front of him. Louis tilted his head as he looked at Harry’s feet. “You’re already getting lazy?” He asked, amusement laced in his voice. Harry hadn’t picked up his feet at all, he’d just shuffled.

Harry laughed. “I just wanted… I don’t know, no. Of course not.” He was smiling as he stood still. They should’ve planned for this. There was just so much to do and Harry had to stay here and wait for Jackie and Evan, but if they were going on the yacht, Harry would need more clothes than just shorts and sandals—which, on a selfish note, Louis sighed at inwardly, because Harry was gorgeous without a shirt on already. No, if they were going to do this at such short notice, they had to do it as right as they could.

“I’m going to head off and come back as soon as I can.” Louis said. Harry bit his lip nervously. “And if you have to take a piss, shuck off your shorts and…” Oh, would Harry hate that? Harry blinked at him, waiting patiently. “Don’t do it unless it’s an emergency.” Oh, he couldn’t leave. Louis sighed. “No, y’know what? I’ll wait here. Yeah. Okay.” He sat back down, earning a confused laugh from Harry. 

“Alright, then, if you’re staying,” Harry took Louis’ hands—and Louis’ heart skipped a beat—and pulled him back up on his feet. He walked backwards towards the edge of the cliff. “Might as well stay right here on our spot.” Louis felt his face soften. They hurried to the edge and sat down side by side, their feet dangling over it. They sighed contently at the same time and stared out. “This is comfortable. Familiar.”

“Yeah…” 

The silence between them was so comfortable. They just rested and occasionally glanced at each other with small smiles. At some point, Louis held his phone out in front of Harry and showed him the stores he’d most likely be going into to buy clothes. Harry huffed at him but Louis told him to _for the love of God, Harry_ please tell him what he liked that was on the pages. Louis also decided it would be funny to have Harry try on _his_ shirt, which was an absolute mess since Harry’s arms were far too big and the shirt far too tight that it rode up his midriff.

“Alright, obviously I can’t get you this size.” Louis said, and they both laughed. He helped Harry out of his shirt and tugged it back onto himself. Harry then pointed out his tattoos and complimented them again. Louis loved the compliments.

Then, there was the selfie.

“It’s like a mirror. Taking photos are like mirror?” Harry asked, staring at their faces looking back at them. Louis extended his arm out and Harry shook his hair lightly, which made Louis snort. Although, he wasn’t one to talk, since he fixed his fringe. 

“Guess it is in a sense.” Harry leaned forward towards the phone, his features taking up the whole screen, and Louis snapped the photo. “Got it! Fantastic. Got a bunch of cheek and nose, exactly what I was going for.”  They both just _laughed_. They laughed so much with each other. “Okay, okay, let’s do this one right. I just… yeah. Alright.  Smile or something.” Harry crossed his arms and stared the phone with a hardened expression. “Okay, just smile.” And it wasn’t hard for Louis to smile himself since his face ached from doing so for the past hour or so. He didn’t know. They leaned their sides into each other. With Louis’ free hand, he pointed his thumb over to Harry and snapped the photo. “Look, look, look.” Louis said excitedly, going to his photos to bring theirs up. “Oh, it’s so good.”

Harry snatched his phone and held it up right under his eyes. He gasped, his eyes widening. “I love it! I want it. When will it come out on paper? Will it come out of here?” He asked, tapping the charger slot at the bottom.

Louis supposed he was going to have to actually print out a copy. “Whenever I print it. I’ll do it soon, alright? Since you asked.” It was actually really nice since everything was so electronic nowadays. Printed photos were rare. Louis grinned over at him. “You have photos down there?” He asked, his eyes glancing down to the waterbeneath them.

“Sure. They’re not ours. Most of them are very, very, very old and not as colorful as that one. Blurry, too and soggy—of course. Since it’s been in the water for so long and all.” Harry said. “But never one of _ours_ like that.”

Louis bit his lip, looking down at the picture of them before shutting his phone off. He _did_ promise Harry something like a late birthday present, hadn’t he? He was sure he knew exactly what it would be now, and honestly, he couldn’t wait to get it to him. “Alright. I’ll get you our photo so you can keep it. And I’ll also keep one.” He enjoyed Harry’s company very much. If they were to be friends—or more, he could only hope—and be separated for a long time since Harry was so busy, then it would be nice to have a photo of them both lying around to reminisce.

“Thanks, Lou.” 

“It’s no problem, Hazza. I know you’ll be excited over it.” His eyes crinkled happily as he glanced up at him before looking out at the horizon. Thinking about everything, much more clearer now, Louis did think it would be difficult. He needed Zayn’s assistance to get the boat running. “Erm, Haz?”

“Hmm?”

“If I needed help… I mean, I know I can get… the boat. I do. But, if I needed help… but… I needed to tell someone about you…” Louis looked over at him warily. Harry frowned immediately. “No? Out of the question?”

Harry didn’t answer for some time. Louis didn’t want to pester again. He would find a way. He would. The thing is, of course, Zayn’s been at it more, so he could ask Zayn just about everything he had to know without Zayn asking him why, why, and why. Louis would run out of lies far too quickly. He couldn’t even think of one if he tried. Not _really_. Louis, for all everyone knew, had no reason to go on a weeklong sail on his own. It made no sense to anyone.

“Would it be your friend, Zayn?”

Louis nodded.

“Is it a _must_? Do you trust him? Do you _truly_ trust him enough that you could confidently say _I_ can trust him?”

Louis sighed. “He hates to see fish struggle in nets. I’d trust him if I were a fish. I know he would never do anything to put you or your people in any kind of danger. If I can keep a secret, he can keep it somehow better.” That was the truth, too. Louis had the biggest confidence that Zayn would be incredible about this once he had that _proof_. He wasn’t going to outright believe in anything off the bat. After all, Louis needing his yacht to go across all the oceans with his merman friend to find five gems to save the Atlantic Ocean’s kingdom did seem a bit far fetched to any sane human.

“Okay. I trust _you_.” Harry said slowly. Louis smiled softly. “Sure. Okay.”

“I promise you it’ll be okay. I just need to really prepare for it all and if I need Zayn to even get the yacht off of the docks since _he_ owns it, not me, then I mean…” Louis sighed shakily. “Yeah. It’ll be okay.” His eyes lightened in realization. “Oh. This means you get to see our flat.”

Harry scoffed. “You are not flat, Louis. Don’t be ridiculous.”

A fit of giggles attacked Louis. “No, a flat, like, as in a _thing_ is where I live.”  His eyebrows suddenly knit together and he tilted his head, pointing out in front of them. “Is that…?” He began. Harry followed his finger and his eyes widened. What Louis saw where dolphins coming straight their way! The only ones who did enough for Louis to familiarize it were Jackie and Evan.

“It is.”

“Should we go back down there to meet them?” Louis asked. Harry shook his head. Louis’ feet swung back and forth excitedly. “Good. Good. Smart.” They carefully leaned forward the tiniest bit, both of their hands gripping the edge they sat on tightly as they looked down. In moments, the ripples were under them and stopped moving entirely, only for two familiar dolphin heads to appear from the water. They cried out happily and Harry smiled down at them.

“Hello!” Harry said, waving his hand down at them. He suddenly laughed, their soft _eeks_ piercing the air happily. Louis looked between the dolphins and at Harry, purely amazed at how Harry’s eyes lit up just to see them. “Oh really? That’s such good news!” Louis quickly looked behind them and all around to make sure they weren’t being gawked at. It wasn’t like speaking to dolphins was entirely _normal_ in the human world. He didn’t want someone to think Harry was losing it. 

Louis whispered, “What did they say?”

“The manatees and sharks they know are going to accompany us alongside the _yacht_.” Harry exaggerated the last word and Louis’ eyes crinkled at the sides as he smiled gently. “They said it would be best—and I agree—that once we head off, y’know, farther out,” He jut his hand out towards the horizon. “That they will meet us where we are and work their magic to make the waters in tune with the yacht and move it faster.”

“That sounds… great.” Louis was interested in knowing how fast was _fast_. He wondered if they’d even need to drive the yacht. Harry gave him a quizzical look. Louis shook his head quickly. “No, no, really! It does sound great, I promise. I just… you know, that’s entirely new territory for me. If I’m going to accompany you and everything, I know I’ll be…” he sighed blissfully, trying to find words. Harry waved at the dolphins below as they headed away. Louis did the same. He was rather fond of those two. “You know how you think… a _phone_ is… completely out of this world?” Harry nodded. “The idea that dolphins, manatees, _and_ sharks are going to come along with us and… and what? _Manipulate_ the boat and the water and I don’t know what, to make it go faster? Even this journey sounds so… mind blowing, Harry, I can’t wait, actually.” 

Harry smiled and caught his lower lip between his teeth, but he was smiling so much his dimples appeared. Louis wanted to hold his face and kiss him. “Well I guess it’s your turn to be amazed, then, huh? About _time_. _”_

_“_ Oh, _Harry_ , your existence is amazing enough! And… I don’t mean that in the… in only the, y’know, the ‘you’re half fish, half man’ sort of thing, either. Like, _you_ are amazing.” Louis had said it before he could even stop himself. Harry’s eyes softened and he looked down. He wasn’t sure, but Louis thought he could see his smile widening. That had to mean something, right? He didn’t know. He didn’t know what he could or couldn’t do, so Louis reached under Harry and tapped his finger under his chin. Harry’s face shot up. His eyes widened like a deer in headlights as their eyes met for a long moment, but then he looked away, pausing for a moment before clearing his throat. 

“You’re amazing, too.” Harry said quickly before standing up.

Louis got the hint. Something sunk into the pit of his stomach. He subtly nodded to himself, pressing his lips into a thin line. The thing was, too, that Louis didn’t want to push it, either. He really didn’t. His dad had just died and everything. It wasn’t the time to ask about this or that, and Louis was okay with that. He was. He just thought it was funny how they could be playful, they could be sweet to each other through letters, and how three months ago, Harry could kiss him, and how right now, this contrasted all that, as small as it was.

But Louis was okay with it. Harry mattered just as he was in his life right now. He got to his feet, too, turning to face the wall. “After you.” Harry beamed and hurried over to the wall and climbed over it. “So, now… we… are going to go get you some clothes.” Louis told him, following right behind before abruptly stopping as he remembered something rather important. “I’ve also forgotten my bike way over there, hang on.” He laughed, running back the way they came, towards the bike rack. Only Louis would forget his bike at the beach. It happened more often than he’d ever like to admit.

He returned to Harry quickly, stopping in front of him and earning a shocked jump from Harry. “You almost scared the salt out of me!” Harry told him, his hand over his heart as he calmed down. Louis laughed warmly. “I just about got turned inside out.” He giggled. “I remember this, though! I love this. Oh…” Harry crouched and stared at Louis’ feet on the pedals. “I _see_ … that’s how you do it, alright… I love this.”

“One day, I can teach you how to ride it.” Louis said. “If you want to, of course.”

Harry nodded, but then feigned a thoughtful expression with a hum. “Hmm, don’t know. I think you pushing on this would suffice just as much.”

“Oh knock it off,” Louis scrunched his nose as fondness crept back into his face. He jabbed a finger into Harry’s side and a burst of giggles came out him. “Oh, someone’s ticklish.”

“Don’t you _dare_. Ever. I command you to _never_.” Harry’s big smile was the most contagious thing. It also always told Louis he was happy and amused. That’s what mattered. 

Louis scoffed. “You’re not my king, remember? I don’t _have_ to listen to you here.”

“You’re lucky the water doesn’t reach the top of this cliff or you’d be soaked right now.” Harry warned. They laughed together once again—and Louis loved it, how they laughed so much. He didn’t even remember that a moment ago, he was accepting that Harry and him were only to be friends. He liked that they could be this way. 

Crossing his arms, Louis raised his eyebrows at Harry. “Is that a threat? Are you threatening me?” He couldn’t keep a straight face at the moment. They were just joking. “Come on, then. Do you want to, er, ride the bike and I push or do you want to… walk beside me?” He asked, getting ready to get up.

“As much as I love your bike, I would love this chance to just walk around.” He should’ve known. Louis would always have the image of Harry running around on the beach as if peace on earth—or maybe, in his case, in the sea—had been achieved entirely, the grin on his face never ceasing… a lot like how it wasn’t ceasing _now_. Actually, the only time Harry didn’t exactly smile was when Louis asked a couple times about how he was and just moments ago when Louis gently touched his chin. Point taken. Louis didn’t want to make Harry upset, after all. Ever.

“Sounds like a plan, then. Let’s go.”

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

**H**

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

Harry’s head kept turning this way and that. He wished it could turn in a full circle because there was just _so much_ here. If he thought the street and the buildings across it were marvelous, it was nothing to everything else. They’d gone to something called a “mall” where there were many, many shops full of different things. Harry had been a bit overwhelmed, but Louis’ comforting back rub made it a little easier. Still, he had no idea where to look or where to go, but he knew he wanted to go everywhere. At some point, a salesperson in the middle of the mall had stopped to talk to him about his phone screen being broken or something like that, and offered him all the types of cases for the phones. Louis had gone to get ice cream for them both and before he knew it, Louis was dragging him away and telling the salesperson, “Thanks, but no thanks!”

He also witnessed something called eyebrow threading. They shaped actual eyebrows. There was a screen that actually showed the current person getting their eyebrows threaded and Harry was absolutely amazed. He ended up clapping very loudly.

Then there were the actual clothing stores. Harry looked at everything in awe and grabbed just about whatever he liked, which was really _whatever_. He got things that didn’t match, got work clothes, formal clothes, and had gasped at summer dresses. Louis was laughing and Harry knew it wasn’t to make fun of him anymore. It never had been. Apparently to Louis, Harry was endearing and made him laugh just by being himself. He would never forget that. 

Louis had Harry try clothes on and find his sizes for them. Of course, the moment he first removed his swim trunks, Harry had stared down at the newest addition of his body that hung between his legs. He whispered at the door over to Louis and Louis’ voice whispered back, albeit a bit higher, and explained what the fuck his penis was. “Don’t call it a penis, though, that’s fucking weird.” And it broke every bit of awkwardness the tiny conversation held.

He would come out of the dressing rooms and stretch his arms out and Louis would tell him to turn around in a circle. It was all fun, especially when Harry popped his hip to the side with his hands on his hips and Louis’ laughter never sounded so lovely in that moment. Harry’s new favorite thing was to make Louis laugh. Their happiness was contagious to each other. Or, really, just being with each other made them happy. That’s what Harry felt, at least.

In the end, Harry was now the proud owner of some t-shirts, a warm winter jacket, more shorts, sleepwear, and pants. Louis said they were needed before putting on trousers. Oh, and Harry had a pair of jeans that Louis had jokingly had him try on. They had been tight, but not _too_ uncomfortable. Harry had decided to want them anyway. Although, that might’ve been decided the moment Louis told Harry they looked really good on him.

He also expressed with extreme delight at a button down shirt with popsicles scattered over it and another with pastel colored fish. Harry _had_ to have those. At some point, Louis stopped paying with paper money and used a plastic card. Harry asked him if he’d run out of money and immediately felt terrible. He and Louis whispered harshly back and forth about money and Louis stubbornly bought him the shirts.

Of course, all of that was nothing compared to the shoe store. Harry could hear harps playing in his head the moment he entered. It was like a dream. He wanted his grotto to look just like this shoe store. He couldn’t keep himself from trying on so many and walking in them around the store. Louis and him tried on a couple of little boats called “slippers” that had little animals on the front. They made their toes meet up against each other and Harry curled his toes up and down happily, seeing the long ears of the animal—called a rabbit, apparently—lift up and down. Louis had smaller feet and Harry thought it was very cute. 

Louis also bought himself a pair of Vans. Harry threatened to steal those. Louis gave him a look that had Harry’s stomach fluttering. The thing about Louis’ face was that it was full of expression, like his entire personality was always etched onto it. Louis gave him a challenging sort of look with mischievous eyes despite seeming as calm as he was. “Oh yeah?” he’d asked, with a slight raise of his eyebrows and his tongue darting along his top lip. Harry didn’t even know how to explain it, but if Louis looked handsome before, it was more so in that tiny moment.

It didn’t help hat he kept fighting every right moment to kiss him. He couldn’t. Harry couldn’t do that to Louis—or to himself, he supposed, but mostly to Louis—when Harry’s marital fate had been decided. Needless to say, it definitely sucked, especially since Louis was the absolute sun and stars.

Louis was once again amazed when they emerged from the mall to get to the bike and head off. “I didn’t think this through. Absolute shocker.” He’d said, but Harry had _his_ satchel and stuffed everything inside right before Louis’ eyes. “Holy shit what is that?”

“It’s an enlargement charm. We’ve got those things underwater.” Louis put the satchel over his shoulder and marveled at how light it was. He also took the opportunity to put his own bag in the satchel. “Who needs suitcases when these exist?” He said as they went off and Harry was left wondering what a suitcase even was. He figured it might be for another time.

Then, there was the market. It was filled with food. There were variants of human food everywhere. _Everywhere_. Harry tapped his finger on the glass of a freezer because he saw all of the ice creams. He then learned that Louis’ favorite ice cream was the dulce de leche one from Häagen-Dazs. So, Harry said he wanted to try that one. They also bought chips and candy and fruits and vegetables and other frozen foods and foods that Louis said were quick to make by just putting them in a microwave—but then, Louis promised he’d make him homemade mash one day since it was better—and just about everything else possible.

It was all so much, but in a good way this time.

By the time they were done, they were out in front of Louis’ “flat”—which, there was nothing flat about it—and the sky was bleeding warm colors again. “Didn’t know there was a purple sunset, too.” Harry had said softly, in awe, as he cast his eyes skyward, not even aware that Louis was looking at him the way he seemed to look at Harry. “Wonder what the myth is on this. I’ve never heard it.”

“Suppose we’ll find out, huh?” Louis’ voice chimed. It made Harry smile before looking back down at him. “Shall we, then?”

Louis lived in a flat that was behind about two rows of sea cottages that people rented or, Louis explained, if they were rich enough, lived in. The building was made of brick, Louis told him, and reassured him that the inside was a million times better. 

He also mentioned that he and Zayn shared a two bedroom flat and paid the expenses fifty/fifty. “Being roommates with your best friend is easily the best thing ever. We know each other like really well, y’know? I mean, honestly, I knew what I was getting into when I moved in with Zayn.” And Louis began counting off of his fingers. “He’s always moving the furniture around the flat to change things up without my input, he wakes me up a lot of the times in, like, the middle of the night to see how some stencil may look on me for reference, an absolute lover of animals and against seafood and someone who was so marine friendly he volunteered everywhere he could when he had the time.” Louis sighed. “There’s a lot.”

Harry liked Zayn already and he hadn’t even met him yet.

They hurried up the stoop’s steps and entered the building to head to his flat’s door two floors above. Harry managed to trip up the stairs at one point. “These steps are tiny and you’ve got huge feet.” Louis said with a little dismissive hand. When they entered, Harry’s eyes widened at the interior.

The wooden floor was pale and flat rather than the contrasting ceiling. Harry’s eyes gazed upwards. The ceiling was made of rougher wood and had a couple of wooden beams going across it.The walls were made up of smooth white paint and rich red bricks. Harry didn’t know what any of it was, but he knew that this was _nothing_ like anything back home. “This is the bathroom here. Do you have to go? I never even asked if you did. Shit.” A _what_? Louis softly laughed as he turned around and looked at Harry, pushing the door closed behind him. He must look horrified. “A bathroom’s where you piss and shit and bathe and brush your teeth and wash your hands.” _What, what,_ ** _what?!_** Louis opened a door on their right. The bathroom. “Another time, then?”

“M-maybe…” Harry breathed out cautiously. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Where they were right now was a small hall that broke off into the living room. It was small and square-like. Harry stared at the TV that was against one of the corners and the black couch diagonal from it. “Zayn loves having plants in the house. Has a calmer aesthetic or something like that?” Harry’s eyes looked over to the green plants in pots besides furniture. There was a smaller, two-person couch adjacent to the large one, framing a glass coffee table. The windows were surrounded by brick walls. Harry did a double take at the window before striding over to it. He could see the ocean from this one.

“It’s a nice place,” Harry whispered. It was true, too. He just didn’t exactly… know where to look or what half the things were. He hugged himself around his middle and walked back over to Louis, looking at the coffee table as he did so. “It’s a lot… to… to take in.” 

“Yeah?” Louis asked, worry crossing his features. “We can come another day or something, I’ll find a way to the boat with my original plan—“

“N-no, I, er…” Harry swallowed, feeling his heart race. He shook his head lightly and nodded. “It’s fine. I’m okay. I just didn’t expect this. It’s really nice, Louis.” He smiled a little. Louis’ hands carefully tugged at Harry’s, pulling them out, and he held them with a small squeeze. It comforted him. His hands were warm. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Louis smiled softly at Harry before looking at a doorway. “Zayn?” He called out, and Harry was suddenly bombarded with an overwhelming reminder that he’d agreed to have Zayn know about him. It was all too much again.

“Lou…” Harry whispered, chewing on his bottom lip nervously. “I’m afraid.”

Louis turned to face him, his sea eyes soft with understanding. “How’s this?” He said, his voice lowering to match Harry’s whisper. Harry heard a very distinct, _Looooouuuuueeeeh!_ , come from somewhere in the room. Harry froze where he was, gripping at Louis’ hands tightly. “We don’t tell him right now. Because for all _he_ knows, you’re entirely human. So…” A whimper pushed against Harry’s throat. Louis threaded his fingers in between Harry’s. “Hey, it’s—I know this guy, alright? You met Carl today, yeah? That was okay, right?”

“I think it’s the house, too. You know, I mean, like, our buildings are made out of _coral and sponge_ , Lou.”

“We don’t tell him until you say it’s okay for me to start driving into that conversation. And I’ll tell you _everything_ about this place so you can understand it. Okay? Yeah?” Harry nodded vigorously. Louis flashed him a smile. “Happy times, it’s alright, Haz, I promise.” He pulled one hand from Harry’s and slid it around his waist to rest against the small of his back. “Sit down, you definitely need to. Right there’s fine.” 

Harry was guided to the two-person sofa and he sat down carefully. It was so _soft_ , like a sponge. A smile made it’s way up to Harry’s mouth, but only for a second. He was a mix of emotions, didn’t know what to think. All he knew now was that this seating was comfortable and he felt he could sink into it. “This is also nice.” A deep laugh rumbled out from Harry. “It’s soft.”

Louis beamed. “And you haven’t even sat on a bed. Let alone sleep in one. Hang on for a moment.” He hurried across where Harry sat and disappeared into the other doorway. Harry sighed deeply, looking around again.

Alright, yes. He knew what a table was. That eased him. He understood a window, though he didn’t know why something clear was blocking it. Then these were seats, long and soft. Harry looked over at the potted plant on his left. Even the plants here were different. Sure, he’d noticed the trees outside and all, but now he was really taking them in. They all seemed to be _green._ Harry poked at a leaf. It reminded him of paper. He still didn’t know what the black box was in the corner, but that was okay. Everything else wasn’t as extreme as it had been moments ago. It was all alright and certainly beautiful.

Footsteps padded across the floor and Harry turned his head to look up as Louis and someone else entered the room. This had to be Zayn. He had jewelry on his nostril and soft-looking white hair. He, like Louis, was covered in those body designs called tattoos. “Hi, Zayn.” Zayn said, extending his hand out at Harry. Harry quickly took it with a firm grip and shook it.

“Harry.” This was fine. This he could do. He had no idea why he was so nervous a bit ago. Oh, yes, of course. Zayn might end up knowing what Harry was.

“So, yeah,” Louis said, sitting down besides Harry. If anything, that eased any leftover nerves inside of Harry even more. “he’s my friend.” And Harry’s heart sunk into the core of the earth from that one word. “Like I was saying, he actually really, really, really needs to borrow your yacht…” a tiny, rolled, chirp-like sound interrupted them as Zayn sat down on the other couch. It was followed by a soft thud and something came into the room, too.

_What is that?!_

A ball of… of _soft_ padded into the room. It had patches of black, white, and amber and bright green eyes. “Abby!” _Abby?_ The name was familiar. Louis bent down and used both of his arms to pick the large critter up. Harry remembered exactly who this was, then. It was Louis’ cat! The cat named Abby made its little noise again and started to sort of vibrate. Either way, she was actually one of the cutest things Harry’s seen in his life. Louis smushed his face into the back of Abby’s neck and planted a kiss there before resting his cheek on the cat. “This is my cat, Abby.” Louis said. “She’s a calico maine coon and _way_ too big. Look.” He sat up and let his cat stretch over both of his arms. “ _Huge_ , right?!”

“Too huge. Know what’s not fun?” Zayn said, and Harry looked over at him. “Waking up and her entire body is just right on your face. And you can’t even do anything about it because she’s so long and huge.” The image of it was funny in Harry’s head and he laughed properly.

Harry wouldn’t know what big _was_ for cats. Dolphins were bigger, after all. “I’m guessing that happened to you?” He asked.

“Too many times to count.”

Zayn seemed nice. Harry looked back at Abby the cat and nodded. “Yeah, huge. She’s lovely.” 

“Can pet her if you’d like,” Louis told him. Harry loved when his voice was soft and raspy when he spoke to him. He smiled and reached his hand to the cat. Like he would pet a new sea creature, Harry set his hand right in front of the cat’s face. Abby stared at it before bumping it lightly with her head, and Harry brushed his cupped palm on her head, earning a louder vibrating sound. “See? She loves you, purring and everything.”

Harry grinned over at Louis. “I love her.”

Louis looked back at Zayn. “So, yeah, Zayn, this is Harry, a friend I met on the beach. Talk to him all the time, really.” Well, this actually wasn’t a _lie_ , per se. Harry was very impressed. “He’s got a bit of an emergency, needs a boat. I said, y’know, like, I don’t have one but me best mate Zayn does. That’s why I asked and all. It’s a little important is the thing.” He looked back at Harry. “Right? Something about your father dying so you had to go off?” He seemed nonchalant, but Louis’ eyes begged and apologized for the quick little white lie.

Harry swallowed, any bit of his smile fading a little at the mention of his father. “Erm… y-yeah, yeah.” He looked over at Zayn.

“Doesn't have any money, either, so it’s not like he can go fly and all.” Louis continued.

Immediate sympathy crossed Zayn’s face. “Oh man, I’m so sorry to hear that, mate.” He said. “That’s awful.” 

“Thank you.” Harry pressed his lips together, nodding a little. He found himself appreciating it. Sincerity poured from Zayn’s eyes, from someone who didn’t even know Harry at _all._ He supposed he could understand why Louis adored his best friend so much. He thought back to what Louis had said earlier, something he’d _read_ in one of their letters. It was something about Zayn not liking to see fish struggle.

Yes, Zayn was good. He could tell. 

“Where’re you going, then?” Zayn asked.

“East coast of the United States… or something like that?” Louis said, looking over at Harry. “Your family over there has a place to dock the boat, right?” His eyes widened, a way to tell Harry to play along with at lie.

“Oh yeah, yeah. They do.” Harry glanced back at Zayn. “In Boston.” From his peripheral vision, Harry could see Louis tilt his head, seeming impressed at the location Harry had come up with. “I mean, I understand… like… not wanting some stranger to, erm, take your boat, Zayn.” Harry said. He had to say something. It’d look bad if Louis continued to talk for him. “I wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t important, obviously.” Zayn nodded. “And, of course, it’s sort of really, really short notice. As death is, obviously. Of course,” Harry glanced at Louis, lifting his hands out to gesture at him. “Louis did offer to go along with me. The good… friend he is. Looking out for me, looking out for your boat.”

Zayn laughed. “Louis, you could’ve just told me this instead of being all secretive about it over text, yeah?”

“Oh, shut up Zayn. I figured you should at least meet him, see who you’re lending it to, also. We both also know how to work your yacht anyway, so that'll be easy.” Louis’ voice was much more relaxed now. It seemed Zayn was still alright with letting them take his yacht. “Think… we’ll be back, like…?” He glanced at Harry. “A week? Two?”

“A week.” Harry nodded. “Definitely.”

Zayn exhaled slowly as he rested his chin in his hand, his index finger framing his face. “Alright. Yeah. When’ll you leave?”

“Tomorrow.” Harry and Louis said in unison. Zayn blinked at them and leaned his head back in surprise at their mirrored answers, giving them an eyebrow raise before laughing kindly. 

“Okay. Damn, alright. I’ll actually… do you have everything set? I can go to the marina right now and make sure everything’s good for you tomorrow. Actually,” Zayn stood up and fixed his jeans before heading through the doorway he had come from. “I’m _going_ to do that now. Louis, you owe me.”

“Fine.” Louis drawled even before Zayn finished his sentence. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, noise noise.” Zayn came back into the living room and gave him a look. Louis smiled brightly and exaggeratedly. “Thanks Zayn.”

“Yeah, thank you. So much.” Harry told him. “ _I_ owe you one, if anything.”

Zayn shook his head, waving a dismissive hand at Harry. “Nah, he owes me one. You know what I live with?” A smile crept across Harry’s face as he shook his head. “This one,” Zayn pointed at Louis. “Sleeps in almost every day. He’s a disorganized mess. He can’t cook a proper meal. Might I go on?”

Louis scoffed. “He’s exaggerating.”

Harry lifted a hand in the air before slapping it onto his thigh as an alternative to a shrug. He looked at Louis doubtfully despite his grin. “You know,” Harry said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if everything he said was in the least bit true.” Louis’ eyes narrowed at Harry before he carefully picked Abby up and got to his feet, huffing as if offended. 

“So mean, Hazza.”

“And _dramatic_!” Zayn called as he walked off to the front door. 

“Oh, I can see _that_.” Harry laughed as Louis cursed at Zayn just as the door shut. Both of them let out long, relieved sighs and Louis set Abby down onto the floor. “I can’t believe how kind he is.” Harry said, standing up himself. Abby sauntered off through the doorway and made that funny sound again. “What is that sound?”

“A meow. Also,” Louis pointed behind him. “That’s a TV.” _Oh_. “Come, I’ve got to feed my cat. Maybe you can feed her. Do you want to?” Harry nodded as he followed both Louis and the cat into the kitchen behind the couch. “Also, I think you’ll be very excited to know that I have no doubt Iridesa and Marina are dying to see you. They’re in my room.” Harry’s heart leapt with joy at the mention of his old pair of starfish, but he was also staring studiously at the contraptions the kitchen held. Louis opened up a cabinet and pulled out a large bag. It was already open. He handed it to Harry. “So, that’s her bowl over there.” He said, pointing against the wall. Harry took the bag. “Can just pour some in.”

“‘Kay.” Harry bunched the bag into his arms and hurried to crouch in front of the bowl. He could hear Abby purring as she brushed herself against him, her tail bristling as if it were a feather. “You _are_ hungry, huh?” She meowed softly as Harry poured the tiny bits of hard food into the empty bowl. He stared at the little pieces and watched as Abby left his ankle to devour every bit of her food. He, in turn, pet her head lightly. “She’s cute.”

“Really bratty, though.” Harry looked behind him to see Louis leaning against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed. “You hungry, Haz? For real food, I mean. Not ice cream. Like a proper meal?” He was. Harry nodded. Louis took his phone out. “I think this is the perfect time to try out pizza. And then we can watch The Little Mermaid because I said we would one day. Looks like that day’s today.” He tapped on his phone and put it to his ear. 

Harry liked this. He could feel his chest swell with warmth. He felt completely calm and relaxed just like this. Tomorrow would be the real start of the busiest week of his life, and honestly? Harry was more ready than he was weeks ago.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

_"I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I know something’s starting right now. Watch and you’ll see. Someday, I’ll be part of your world."_

“Her voice is gorgeous.” Harry said with a mouthful of cheese pizza. He’d battled with the stringy bits already. Louis had filmed him on his phone. Harry had seen and told him he was going to get him for that. Louis laughed shortly, like a hiccup, before throwing his head back with laughter. He was so special. Harry enjoyed Louis’ company so very much. He couldn’t wait for an entire week with him. No matter what happened, he knew the sea creatures that would accompany them would keep Louis and the boat out of harm’s way if need be. Harry wasn’t going to allow Louis to get hurt. He was just going to accompany him. It was all going to be okay. “Although it’s terribly inaccurate since merfolk don’t sing or speak any human language underwater.”

Louis looked over at him as he bit into his third slice of pizza. “Not that inaccurate, don’t exaggerate. You do sing. And you sing well.” Harry smiled bashfully down at the leftover crust of his pizza before he bit into it. “I promise.”

“So do you. Maybe you were a merperson in another life.” Harry said. 

“Shut up.” Louis laughed. Harry silently chuckled to himself. They redirected their attention to the TV. Honestly, the TV had to be one of the most incredible things humans had to have invented. It was like a moving drawing with voices and color to tell a story. Before Louis had put the movie on, it was like real people were trapped in a box. Louis said they were professional actors to act out a story. Harry’s mind was blown yet again. It was one of his favorite things by far.

The story was incredible, too. Granted, it was much more safe than the original story of The Little Mermaid. He highly doubted the sea witch would end up cutting her tongue off and that her feet would bleed when she walked on land. Louis also told him that disney movies had a guarantee of being happy endings, which was not to be confused with bittersweet happy endings. Harry also argued immensely about the fact that Flounder the character looked nothing like an actual flounder and didn’t understand why Sebastian the crab was so red. Louis cautiously told him that they turned red when they were boiled and Harry hid his face into a pillow.

He was horrified when Louis the _chef_ tried to get Sebastian, too. Louis had said, “Hey, there I am!” And Harry didn’t think it was his funniest joke. At some point, Louis had gotten up and wondered what would happen if Harry took a sip of water. “Gotta hydrate yourself, you’re not _in_ water now so, y’know, like, you gotta drink.” And Harry did. The first thing Harry noticed was that it was the strangest taste of water.

“Where’s the salt?” Harry asked, staring into the clear liquid.

Secondly, a tail didn’t pop out of Harry in replace of his legs. Louis dipped his hand under the running sink and carefully flicked some of it on Harry. Nothing. “Maybe it’s only ocean water that does it.” Louis whispered thoughtfully before hurrying back into the kitchen and coming back with a shaker of sea salt. He shook some of it in the water and Harry tried it again.

“Definitely need more. Keep it going.” Louis grimaced but complied. “Actually, I’ll just take that.” He said, holding his hand out for the salt shaker. Louis shrugged and let him have it, and Harry threw his head back with his mouth open before pouring salt in his mouth alone.

Louis was staring at him. “Oh, my god.” He let out a shocked laugh. “Is it good?”

“Delicious, really.” Harry said, salting the water before swishing it around in the glass and drinking it again. He hummed approvingly at the taste. 

“Okay, then.” Louis smirked, shaking his head with a smile. Harry bounced lightly on his seat happily. He felt spoiled.

Harry grew increasingly quiet—not that he wasn’t quiet before, but he did ask questions here and there—when Prince Eric announced to Grimsby that he would be marrying Vanessa. He rested his chin on the pillow he held to his chest with a serious expression. Of _course_. It didn’t make any sense that Eric would be marrying some lady when Ariel was clearly closer to him. He tried not to think about Louis’ reaction if, or when, Harry ever told him the truth of his royal engagement.

Of course, there was always the possibility that it wouldn’t bother Louis at all. Maybe that would be better.

Zayn had returned when the wedding almost happened. “Everything’s set for tomorrow.” He said, and Harry had said a sincere thanks once again, right when Zayn hurried over in between him and Louis—which was… definitely _something_ —and snagged himself a slice of pizza. “Don’t mind me.” He said, standing up again. “I’m actually going to head to sleep, so.” Zayn started walking off and waved behind him. “Nice to meet you, Harry. Night Louis.”

Louis waved lazily up at him. “Nice to meet you, too.” Harry told him, giving him a sleepy smile himself. He _was_ tired. And had an urge to release something. “Louis?” Harry asked. Louis slowly turned to look at him and Harry pouted, glancing over behind them towards the tiny hallway with the bathroom door. 

Being a human seemed to come with complications. Louis was outside the door and talking to him and Harry was doing everything he said. He made a point to tell Harry to wash his hands when he flushed and Harry lightly kicked the door so Louis could open it. Harry felt shy as hell when he asked how exactly he should wash his hands. That ended up with Louis praising him on not missing the toilet and Louis sitting up on the sink counter with lotion after he washed his hands. Harry had gotten his first hand massage. His hands smelled like something sweet. It was nice, but he was sure they were both trying to not look at each other the entire time. They were so close and Louis was pressing gentle circles and squeezing his hands and it was all warm and also cool.

“Can I see Iridesa and Marina?” Harry asked quietly.

“Of course, Haz. Come on.” Louis said, his voice soft, and Harry honestly couldn’t believe he had the urge to kiss someone because of their voice, too. Louis hopped off of the counter and shut the bathroom light off. “They’re in this big tank in my room.” He said as he led Harry through the dining room joined kitchen and through another door. “Zayn’s got the bigger room.” He said. 

Harry didn’t know if it was his royal privileges peeking through his thoughts or if it was _actually_ small, but _damn_ , Louis’ room was remarkably small. And yet, it was somehow roomy and enough. All of the walls in the room were made of brick and he had a nice ocean view for himself from a circular window. The tank Louis mentioned was in here along with the familiar guitar and other… bunches of stuff. Then there was…

“This is where you sleep?” Harry asked, tapping his finger on the end of the bed. Just from that, he could tell it was a million times softer than the couch. Granted, his own bivalve bed was extremely comfortable with the cushion like bottom of the mollusk, but this was something entirely different. It was something new and Harry pressed his hand into the bed. “Whoa.” What in the hell were the things on it, too? They were sheets. The topmost one was the thickest and they were all undone with a pillow slumped against the foot of the bed.

“I’m sorry it’s sort of messy.” Louis said, pouting.

“I think it’s brilliant.” Harry said, then turned to the large piece of furniture with drawers. The tank sat up on top of it. He saw the small starfish sticking to the glass. Their legs scrunched and swayed against it slowly as Harry appeared. “Hello!” He said, reaching into the water to take them out carefully. Harry sat them on the palms of his hands and they spoke gently.

_Hello, little prince! We’ve missed you!_

After Harry placed them against his earlobes for a quick ego boost—they reassured him he was brave and smart and would come out victorious in all of his endeavors—he set them back into the tank. Louis was sitting cross-legged on the floor, dangling a string right above Abby’s face, who was on her back, pawing and nipping at it playfully. Harry sat down in front of Louis on Abby’s other side. It was like he and Louis were able to communicate without words a lot of the time. He looked at Harry and then at the string. Harry’s eyes brightened as he nodded and took it from Louis. Harry dangled it above Abby now and they laughed quietly at how she tried to get it every time.

“Where do you want to sleep?” Louis asked when they returned from his room. Harry hadn’t even thought of that. “I mean, there’s here and… and there’s… there’s my bed. I mean I don’t mind sleeping here myself and you in there, of course.” Abby stalked into the room and meowed for attention again, walking back and forth against Harry’s legs where he sat down. “Y’know, wherever you want.”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t want to, like, take your bed. I’m…” He patted the couch he was on. “I’m fine here, Lou. Really. It’s comfy enough.”

Louis laughed, motioning for Harry to stand up. “Hang on. Actually, can you help me?” He walked to one end of the glass coffee table and lifted his head up. “Grab the other end and lift. Gonna move it off to the side.” They did. Harry was thankful that Louis was the one walking backwards because Harry and no doubt he’d fall and it would’ve been a really terrible mess. Louis met Harry’s eyes and nodded, and they set the table down under the window. “This couch can turn into a bed.”

_What?!_

“No fucking way.” Harry couldn’t believe it. “You’re lying.”

Louis was already removing cushions from the couch and eyed him. “Really, Harry? Really, am I lying?” He asked as he pulled at a couple of metal bars and unfolded a bed. Harry’s hands flew to his mouth, his eyes shining with glee. “Ta-da. Let me just go make the bed. You can, erm… I know you like the clothes you’ve got on now but those pants especially won’t be comfortable to sleep in. You can change. In the bathroom. And then I can tell you how to brush your teeth.”

“I’m guessing you don’t have cleaner fish around to take care of your teeth, hmm?” Louis’ head snapped up, his eyes wide as he looked at Harry.

“Alright, _you’re_ lying.” He said as he disappeared into the doorway. Harry grabbed his satchel and searched around for the shopping bags as he sat down on the other, smaller couch. His bag also included the food. He took those out, too. Harry tried to remember which ones were the clothes he should sleep in. Louis came back in with sheets and pillows and started making the bed. “Oh, fuck. The food.”

“Hmm?” Harry held out plaid pajamas. “These ones, right?”

Louis looked up from stretching something over the mattress. “Yeah, those ones. Sorry, I completely forgot about the food, shit. Can you leave that out here?” Harry nodded as he took the bag with the slippers and pajamas and walked to the bathroom. He changed into them and ran his fingers through his hair, sighing in relief. It was still silky and smooth. Harry was giddy. Even if he’d stayed up all night—save for a few hours—on land on a cliff with Louis, the ocean was right beneath him. This time, Harry was actually going to sleep in a person’s home. Louis’ home. This was exciting.

“Bed’s all set.” Louis called from outside. “Are you decent?”

“Yes.” Harry opened the door for him and smiled a little. “Think you’re going to give me another human tutorial, am I right?”

“Of course I am.” Louis was right next to him, both at the sink. Harry knew Louis was shorter than him now, but looking at themselves in the mirror’s reflection had him giggling. Somehow, it seemed like Louis just _knew_ why he was laughing and lightly bumped his shoulder into his. “Anyways, overlooking the injustice of it all…” He tilted his head, staying quiet for a moment. Harry carefully prodded a finger into his side and Louis yelped before laughing. “Don’t! Alright!” He composed himself and grabbed a thin brush from a cup. Louis opened drawers until he found an extra. “For you.” Harry blinked down at it before savagely taking it out of its plastic hold. “That’s… one way to do it.”

Brushing teeth was a lot more complicated than Harry would’ve ever thought. And messy. First of all, his toothbrush spun around and tickled the bottom of his gums, vibrating against his teeth. Some of the paste dribbled from his mouth, but that was what the sink was for. Louis told him to make sure to get the back teeth, too and to not forget his tongue. It was a lot to remember. The water swishing was the best part. Harry had never done that before, which Louis was surprised to learn.

Flossing wasn’t as fun. It was the most complicated thing yet. Harry quickly got frustrated with the piece of string and Louis ended up doing it for him. “Flossing’s obnoxious and hard at first.” Louis said. Harry liked that Louis never made him feel bad for not understanding something or getting something right the first time. He was so patient, so helpful, and Harry was reminded of the day they met. Louis was genuinely so good. With his mouth open for Louis to floss, Harry let out a yawn and Louis smiled so much his eyes crinkled. “Tired?” All Harry could do was nod. “Me too.”

If it was possible, Harry could actually _feel_ his teeth were clean, or fresh, really. It was nice. When he headed back into the living room, he saw that the pull out bed was all made with pillows and sheets for him.“Did you put the food away?” Harry asked as he sat himself down on the bed. 

“Mm-hmm.” Louis yawned. Harry carefully pulled his legs up and laid down properly on the bed. He was melting, sinking into it. He never felt something so comfortable, like it was trying to swallow him up in the best way. The pillows behind his head were perfect. “The sheets, y’know, they kind of go _over_ you.” Louis said. “Ooh, I can tuck you in.”

“Tuck me in?” Harry asked. Louis nodded and pulled at the sheets from under Harry and draped them over him. Warmth crawled up over him and embraced him welcomingly. Louis tucked the sheets so they covered him tightly. Harry felt like he was literally wrapped up in a bundle. “This is so nice.” Harry yawned again and closed his eyes. This was probably what a cloud felt like. Although, Louis’ lips were also like clouds, if he remembered correctly. Harry wished he could remind himself of that.

“You good?” Louis asked. Harry’s eyes opened sleepily and he nodded with a huge smile on his face, hugging a pillow to himself as well. “Gonna get you some water and, yeah. I mean, if you need anything, you know where my room is.” If Louis’ voice was anything, it was a silver thread along stars, slow and breathtaking, like water that wasn’t liquid or solid. It was sweet. Like sea salt ice cream, and raspy with tiredness. Harry met his eyes and held them for a while. Louis didn’t look away himself until he did. “Tomorrow’s a big day, so… so you should sleep.”

“You too. Thank you so much, Louis. For everything.” Harry couldn’t look at him for another minute. If he did, he would surely pull his face down and close the space between them, so he buried his own face into the pillow he held and closed his eyes. “Night, Louis. Sweet dreams.”

A small, shaky breath came from Louis. Harry could hear it. “Yeah, yeah, you too.” Harry heard him walk off and heard water being poured. He then heard Louis come back and walk around him to the glass table, then heard him shake salt into the water before walking back over to Harry’s side and set the glass on the floor. Harry’s eyes shot open as small weight jumped up next to him. “It’s just Abby. She’s harmless. Might want to sleep with you. Tends to like newer people rather than Zayn and I anyways.” Harry softly laughed, turning around carefully to see Abby lying down with her head on her paws. The light shut off. Harry lifted his head to see Louis at the doorway. “Night, Haz.” He whispered, and then was gone.

Harry shut his eyes, another yawn breaking out from him. He took in a deep breath and let it out, feeling like he sunk into the bed even more. He wasn’t sure, but he felt like sleep might’ve come to him faster than it had in the past few weeks. Harry was thankful for that, glad that this happened, glad that Louis _and_ Zayn were going to help him in their own ways, and was glad that in a week, the stress of this mission would be over. The gentle, but positive thoughts swam around in his head, and Harry had the best sleep he’d ever had in his entire life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's so long! Or if you don't mind, then all the better! And there's only two chapters left which means a lot is going to happen during that time. Once again, if there're any spelling or grammar mistakes or something like that, it's because I tried cranking this out before I went to Puerto Rico, but I _will_ look it over properly once I get back.
> 
> I love, love, love, love, _love_ comments and kudos and I'd really appreciate it if you guys left me some while I was on vacation. I hope you liked this chapter and thanks for looking!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fastest Cruise Around the World™, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm so sorry this sort of took a long time but that's only because this chapter actually took a bit of a long time to write and actually ended up being a little over 40k words, so I decided to upload the first portion first so that you guys have something to read. Which means, _yes_ , there are actually now going to five chapters.
> 
> I do want to remind you guys that I literally have no knowledge of boats despite my efforts in trying to research the insides of a yacht and their names, so if any of that is wrong, I sincerely apologize. This was also not britpicked so I did my best with that.
> 
> I also should remind you all that this specific installment (the second book of six, if you will) does not exactly end in a happy ending, _but_ the overall series will end in a happy ending more than you guys can possibly imagine. So that's just a fair reminder for you to expect.
> 
> I hope you guys like this! Thank you so much for all the lovely comments you've left so far, they make my absolute day!

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

**L**

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

The morning had been unbearably busy.

Louis had gone through a rude awakening thanks to Zayn, bright and early. Of course Zayn would wake up early, all showered and dressed, and he wasn’t even the one going on the yacht. “If you’re going to go and if it’s so urgent, get up.” Zayn had said and Louis had only groaned and turned onto his stomach before mumbling something into his pillow about Zayn fucking off since it was six in the morning. This was why they lived with each other. They balanced each other out when need be, and Louis definitely needed Zayn’s punctuality. He felt Zayn lift the covers off of him and yelped when the sheets under him were yanked from the bed, which caused Louis to roll off of it and onto the floor.

Shouting and swearing only commenced between the two. Zayn only did this when they had important things to do and honestly, Louis should’ve known better. It was just that mornings were simply not his thing. Ever.

With disheveled hair and crankiness etched in his features, pronounced in his step, Louis walked into the living room to see a wide-eyed Harry looking at him. It was like seeing Harry had completely dissolved every irked emotion he had since waking up and Louis smiled warmly at him, then apologized for probably waking him up. After he brushed his teeth, showered, and shaved, Louis had asked if Harry wanted to do the same. It wasn't like merfolk exactly needed to shower, but since Harry had spent the night on land and couldn’t just jump back into the ocean, it might be best.

Harry was immediately stressed but very determined. “You and your human rituals.” He’d said after Louis had explained to him about the soap, shampoo, conditioner and the sponge (“That, I can definitely say, is _not_ a sponge.”, Harry had said). Louis had laid out some of Harry’s new clothes just outside the bathroom door for him, too.

Abby meowed profusely at all of the hustle and bustle, in need of attention and peacefulness. Louis pet her head for a good five minutes before kissing the top of it and leaving so suddenly, which had Abby’s ears pointing backwards and her eyes wide, looking around at the loss of affection. To make up for it, he fed her and she purred as she ate.

Zayn in the mean time was talking his ear off about the yacht. He loved his boat a lot and Louis was frankly quite offended that Zayn felt the need to remind Louis of every little thing as if he’d never driven the thing before. Louis ended up shooing Zayn away since he had to go to work. Zayn could honestly be doing the lord’s work by giving people incredible, permanent art on their bodies rather than yapping unnecessarily to Louis about something he already knew. In the end, Louis won, and Zayn kicked at the bathroom with a “Bye, Harry! Good luck!” and Harry actually said “Thanks! You too!” which sent Louis into a fit of laughter.

When Harry had emerged from the bathroom, dry and clothed with impossibly softer and fuller hair, he hurried over to Louis at the kitchen counter with his knuckles to his mouth. “Did I actually say, ‘you too’?” Louis snorted with a nod. “I’m terribly embarrassing.” With a lift of his head, Louis stared at such an endearing Harry passing off as a perfect human and looking _so good_. He lifted a hand up and curled a finger around one of Harry’s curls. They were stupidly grinning at each other and Louis honestly had to look away, pulling his hand down before it turned into some sort of moment.

Somewhere around half an hour later, they headed out with everything fitted into Harry’s satchel except for Louis’ guitar, which was slung around him by the strap. Harry had told Louis that the guitar could definitely fit in the satchel, but Louis just felt he could carry it himself. Either way, he marveled at the satchel some more as they made their way to the marina with giddy chatter between the two. He was impressed that Harry never seemed to tire from walking, and if anything, it seemed like every step had him looking taller and prouder. It was obvious and simple that Harry _really_ liked being on legs. Louis didn’t know what to think about that, but it wasn’t a bad thing. He hurried to the office at the marina when they arrived and came out quickly, only to see Harry had disappeared entirely. He supposed Harry had to be in the water because it was all he really knew.

“Harry?” Louis asked, walking along the wooden dock with a nervous hand shaking the back of his hair. He was nowhere to be found. Why did he leave? Where could he had possibly gone? He still made his way to Zayn’s frankly far too luxurious [power catamaran](http://imt.boatwizard.com/images/1/21/37/4222137_20130409153115655_1_LARGE.jpg), hopping up onto it and looking around again from a higher standing point. There was still no sign of Harry. “What the fuck?” Louis whispered to himself as he decided to at least get the boat ready for heading out. After he did, he headed down one of the stairs to the bottom of it with his hands on his hips, genuine worry coiling in his gut when he then ended up nearly shrieking and jumping backwards when Harry’s hand rose up above the water and wrapped around his ankle.

“Did I scare you?” Harry asked. Louis’ eyes widened down at him and he looked around, wondering if anyone could see him. Luckily, the stairs faced the horizon, so it was most unlikely, but _still_. “There were a couple of barnacles on some of the boats here.” Which, yeah, that happened _sometimes_. Louis stared as Harry actually popped one into his mouth and he almost gagged. Harry looked offended already. “Don’t look at me like that! They’re very good.” 

Louis scoffed. “Sounds like an acquired taste. Sit up on here and get yourself dry before someone sees you, will you?! I thought you were worried about this sort of thing! There are other people around here, y’know?”

Harry grinned. “Don’t worry, Lou.” He propped himself up on the steps and Louis took steps back so Harry could bring himself up more. He tucked his tail up so it wasn’t dipping in the water anymore, and lo and behold, Harry was entirely dry right before his eyes, with long legs and everything again, even with his clothes from this morning, too. It was nice and yet made no sense that the quick transformation didn’t leave Harry entirely naked, like when his tail would turn into green swim trunks before Harry ever had other clothes. Harry looked up and smiled at Louis before standing up. “See?”

“Oh, yeah, uncanny even if you’re out in the open.” Louis rolled his eyes at Harry but couldn’t help his smile. “Alright, so, let me show you… around.”

Zayn’s parents absolutely spoiled him. This boat was sixty-whatever feet long and Louis figured that right next to the definition of ‘luxurious’ in the dictionary featured a photo of this yacht.. The salon inside was spacious and radiated comfort with its cushiony seating. The galley was between the salon and cockpit, and it was honestly too pretty for Louis. Seriously, how much money did they have if they could afford a galley with marble countertops and every possible appliance? Oh, and of course, there was the _double sink_ , too. Not to mention, there was actually a bar, too. The cockpit just outside of the salon—which was really just a smaller, outside version of the salon—was equally spacious, and had the same warm color scheme as the salon. It could be nice to sit there with Harry outside when Harry wasn’t busy with one of the things they were set out to find.

“Right, so this was the entire middle deck... for the most part. Top deck is where I steer. It's a power cat so it's easy enough. It's got seats and stuff up there, too, if you want to join me.” Louis said, but Harry frowned.

“Not for long, though.” Harry told him. “Like I said, this boat’s going with the tide.” Louis wondered just how fast the dolphins, sharks, and manatees could help move along the boat. He was pretty sure it wasn’t exactly meant to run too fast on its own. It wasn’t a racing boat, after all, but Harry seemed confident, so Louis couldn’t help trusting his judgement. Honestly, he was anxious to see all of that happen once they were farther out in the ocean and entirely away from any human eyes for Harry to just…. do whatever he did.

Louis showed him to cabins in the lowest deck. Typically, this cabin could fill up around six people. There were two full beds and four twin beds. “I mean, you can… whichever you want. The two on the left and right of the boat here are the biggest ones, if that makes a difference.” These beds had those mattress that people could literally sink in and it was just that difficult to move with all that maximum comfort. The sheets were a bright, silky red and as Harry climbed up onto it, Louis had to stop thinking what it could be like to touch Harry and be touched by him on such soft sheets.

Nope. 

Harry smiled at Louis blindingly. “This is so nice.” He said, sliding off the bed. 

Louis smiled and sat on the floor, crossing his legs and patting the space in front of him. “Alright, good. Now to unpack just about everything in your satchel and actually get this thing moving.”

That was it, really. Louis showed him the closet where his brand new clothes could sit in. He showed him the bathrooms. He packed up his own cabin and the kitchen as quickly as he could. Harry was so funny when he held a handful of barnacles in his hands, wondering where he should put them, so Louis just told him to put them in a container in the fridge.

“Nope.” Louis said, his arm stretched over his head as he stuffed crisps into a cabinet. He kept his hand there, feeling like he was getting the smallest stretch, but he looked at Harry turning around in the galley—which was _really_ just the kitchen area—evidently confused. “Almost there.” And Harry got it, but not quite. He opened up the freezer and Louis snorted. “So close.” He said, and Harry gave him a death glare as he opened the fridge door up. Louis raised his eyebrows amusedly before nodding as Harry poured all the little barnacles into a container before slamming the fridge shut.

It was weird, because Harry’s dimply smile had returned then and he looked at Louis like he knew he was a little shit. Like, _really_ knew, and knew that he’d nearly opened every other possible door before finding the fridge one. The way Harry actually closed the fridge door had Louis feeling some type of way. He couldn’t even explain it if he tried other than that it was stupid that he could find Harry slamming the fridge door shut at all hot. It was just the way he did it.

When they finished putting things away, Harry sat himself out on the cockpit and Louis headed up to top deck and worked on steering the boat out of the marina. It was lucky that the sky was nice out again and the breeze was gentle. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Harry running to look out at one of the sides of the boat in awe below him. It made Louis smile fondly as the marina slowly disappeared behind them and they were simply off.

_Holy shit, I’m going to cruise around the world in a week._

Harry hurried to meet Louis up on the top deck and plopped down beside him fifteen minutes in and crossed his legs. He was reading the Mark Twain book, it seemed, seeing as he had his satchel slung over his shoulder and the book in hand with one finger acting as a placeholder. “How’s that going for you?” Louis asked.

“Lovely. They’ve met. Chaos can now commence.” But Harry put the book away and took out a compass. “I don’t know why they gave this to me. It’s not…” He frowned. “It’s not even pointing north, I don’t understand it.” Louis furrowed his brows and looked over at Harry, then peered down at the compass. The needle seemed to be turning every which way, like it was bouncing around in circles. It looked pretty old, too. “I mean, you humans invented compasses. We’ve occasionally tampered with them… but... they’re not, like, _supposed_ to do this, right?”

Louis shook his head. “No. Looks broken. And old. I thought you guys wouldn’t need something like this.”

“We usually don’t, which is why I don’t know why they gave this me. I mean, the only reason I could imagine is that these _specific_ places are just that difficult to get to, more so than others.” Harry shrugged and put it back in his satchel before taking out—

“HARRY! Jesus _Christ_ , what the fuck—get those things away from me before you poke my eyes out.” Two long, pointed, silver blades had been extracted from his satchel like it was nothing. Harry held them by their hilts. Louis stared at the swords in disbelief. In all honesty, they weren’t just simple longswords. These swords had to defy the laws of gravity and mass or something because they were _huge_ and Harry held them effortlessly. Why did he have _those_ in there?

His mind backtracked to the fact that Harry lifted them up high above their heads without his hands even faltering. Harry must be… be ridiculously strong. Louis would be dead thinking about just how strong he was and thinking about Harry picking him up to slam him against a wall like he weighed nothing. It was a nice thought. Louis blinked tightly, coming back to the present. Harry sheathed the swords into his satchel and Louis was once again amazed at this Mary Poppins-like piece of magic that kept the swords from stabbing through the bottom.

“Why do you _have_ those, Harry?”

Harry was rummaging through his satchel again and he paused before looking over at Louis. “Did I not tell you?” And suddenly, Louis was horrified. 

“ _Harry._ ”

“A couple of… of beasties… I don’t know.” Louis gaped at him, fear striking through him. He opened his mouth again but Harry’s hands flew to cover his mouth, Louis’ words muffled against them. “You won’t get hurt, Louis. I wouldn’t have asked if there wasn’t a way to keep you out of danger. And there is.” His eyes were honest, and Louis couldn’t help _believing_ , because Harry has been honest the entire time he’s known him. So why was he still horrified at the idea of sea _monsters_ or… or something or other?

Louis cast his eyes down to Harry’s hands on his mouth and Harry pulled them away quickly. “I swear to god if you die during this entire journey at all, I’ll kill you.” He snapped, but they both laughed at how he didn’t exactly make sense with that. “What else have you got in there?” He asked once his laughter died down quickly, but his eyes returned out to the sea in front of them. He looked behind to see how they were doing in distance. He could see the trail of water they were leaving behind them and could see the marina a way's away now, but still too visible. They would definitely check a little later again. Louis was giddy to see what Harry had in store for his way of having the boat move across the oceans. If the boat didn't need power to run its course, then that was perfect.

“A mirror… a bunch of, er, bottles with liquids. Five.” They all had to have some sort of purpose. There was no way they meant nothing. “Guess it’s five for five oceans, five specific obstacles. I’m not exactly _sure_ , of course. These things are things I’ve got to figure out and there’s, like... barely any time. As much as the mermaid elaborated, it wasn’t very _much_.” Louis frowned, looking back over at Harry, who sighed out hard enough that his long fridge lifted from his face. He wished he could somehow take away the stress of it all. Maybe he could help. With them both, it could maybe just get everything done faster.

So, instead, Louis offered a couple of simple, encouraging words. “It’ll be okay, Hazza. You’re smart and very capable. You adapt. Fast, even. I have no doubt you’ll be able to do everything you’re supposed to—as _horrifying_ as the concept is that you might actually have to fight off _sea monsters_ ,” Louis shuddered at the thought. “I know you’ll be brilliant. And, hey, I’m here, too. If I can help…" He stared at Harry for a little bit. Harry still seemed a little uneasy. "Let me.” Harry met his gaze and Louis hoped there was sincerity and faith in them since he definitely felt those two emotions strongly within himself already. The corners of Harry’s lips lifted into a smile and Harry wrapped his arms around him in a hug. Louis sighed out softly, lifting a hand from the controls to hold one of Harry’s forearms.

“Thank you, Lou, for coming on this quest with me. You have no idea how much it really means. I don’t think I can do this alone. And I feel better with you.” Louis tried not to smile too much at that. It was okay. It was just an amiable compliment. He could respect that very much and agree.

“The feeling's mutual.” Louis whispered, giving Harry’s forearm a comforting rub with his hand. Harry lifted his head from Louis’ side and beamed at him. He was so close now, closer than before, but Louis could only smile, too, and lightly pat his arm. “Alright, we’ve got to keep an eye on how far out we are because you’re gonna… gonna take over—or really, your pets are, yeah?” Harry nodded quietly and Louis was determined to do this as fast as he could. He wished this went as fast as a racing boat.

Another hour later and Louis was more than positive no one behind them could see them, that they were well far out into the ocean. He told Harry this and Harry—who had ended up reading a lot of his book—hurried to venture around the perimeter of the yacht before returning to Louis and agreeing. Louis stepped up, but Harry was already jogging over to the edge of the boat to dive into it. Blinking, Louis sat back down, wondering exactly what to do with himself _now_. He figured he could at least slow the speed some, so he did just that.

Carefully, he stood up and headed down to middle deck, heading over to the edge where Harry dove over. He peered down and regretted it almost immediately. Something was swimming just underneath the water on the side of the boat. It broke surface and Louis yelled, jumping back away from the edge. He was sure that he just had something close to a minor heart attack. That was a fucking _shark_. A huge Great White. 

He hesitantly walked up to the edge again and peered down. The sharp dorsal fin stuck out of the water. How had he not seen _that_ the first time? The shark glided around slowly, always somehow swimming _forward_ , and Louis held his breath. It slowly rose out of the water and Louis only flinched this time. Harry’s soft glowing tail could be seen swimming around it and Louis felt a little safer somehow. He had to remember what Harry said, that sharks weren’t terrible. Not _really_. 

Harry’s head popped out of the water and he pulled his hair back. “Isn't she sweet?” Harry asked. Louis forced a smile, but, well… maybe Harry wasn’t exactly wrong. He was still alive and this great white wasn’t doing anything. In fact, she seemed very calm. “Her name is Opal.” Louis smiled down at him, more sincerely, and he looked over at the shark, a quiet, nervous laugh escaping him. He shyly waved a hand to Opal the great white shark, and if it was at all fucking possible, somehow, the shark looked _happier_ , as if he could see it in her beady eyes. 

How did these creatures hide their true selves from humans so well? Scientists would have a fit about this. Maybe it was all the future  _king’s_ doing, and it made the most sense. Louis liked the idea that Harry would be in charge of keeping the creatures of his ocean as low-key as possible from humans and seem mundane. He watched as Harry swam in front of the shark so he could get her attention. The air around them was filled with the very first sounds Louis ever heard come from Harry, like water that was silver, echoing, flowed into watery air. On the shark’s other side, another dorsal fin appeared. The second shark, he assumed.

_Holy shit_.

Harry started to swim away around towards the front of the yacht. The two sharks continued swimming because they had to, but kept near the side of the boat. Louis followed, jogging to keep up with Harry’s swimming speed. _Damn,_ merfolk were fast. In reality, Harry only moved to the other side of the yacht, across from the sharks. Louis leaned his forearms over the side and peered down, only to be greeted by a pair of manatees. This was better for him. He knew these were the puppies of the ocean. He immediately smiled and waved as Harry spoke to them in his oceanic language, too.

“You know,” Louis began. “I guess sailors way back when used to think manatees were mermaids.” It was incredible. Harry was speaking whatever language he was one second, looking serious, his mouth not even open, and the next second he was cracking a smile and burst out laughing. It was such a joyous, pure laugh that it was impossible for Louis not to laugh, too. It only made sense. If Harry’s smiles were contagious, his laughter had to be as well. He was sure it could be close to possible to never be in a dull mood around Harry for long.

“That’s silly!” Harry shouted once his laughter died down enough. “I have heard of that, yes. It actually might be the funniest thing we’ve heard humans assume.”

Louis scrunched his nose down at Harry, feeling his face just start to soften. He watched as Harry swam off to the back of the yacht when the two manatees were side by side against the boat, seeming patient. He stepped down onto one of the side stairs and sat as low as he could on them without getting himself wet. Harry’s iridescent tail swished around in the water and Louis kept his eyes on him.

It was a bad idea. Two very familiar dolphins popped out of the water on either side of where he was sitting and splashed him. Louis froze in shock for a few seconds, but his face fell into amused mischief, looking at both dolphins. The two of them laughed with their choppy, light sounds and Louis raised his eyebrows challengingly. “Oh yeah?” He huffed, leaning over one side, then the other, to splash them back quickly.

Harry rose from underwater at the foot of the stairs. “Are you splashing my dolphins?” He asked, and Louis could just barely tell that his hands were on his hips, like he was mad. The smile gave it away. It always gave Harry away.

“Oh, come on! They started it!” Louis said defensively, waving a hand out to them both. That only earned him another splash. Well, okay. He supposed he deserved that one. Harry’s rich laughter filled the air again before he spoke his watery language to the two mammals. Harry swam off to hover between the two stairs and the dolphins replaced him. Louis watched excitedly, genuinely content and amazed that they could follow his orders so easily and without question. Even if Harry was a merman, sure, and he was to be king, Louis’ amazement simply never ceased. 

“Louis, head back up on the boat, like, where you were. Just hang tight.” Harry commanded, and Louis stood up on the steps before bowing. 

“As you please, Your Grace.” Louis drawled. Harry scoffed out a small laugh and had his palm just under the surface of the water. He just barely jut it upwards when water rose and fell forward towards Louis. He wasn’t prepared for such a burst of water to hit him so full. His eyes shut tightly and he lowered his arms, completely drenched from head to foot.

Sputtering water out, Louis sighed heavily and wiped at his eyes and forehead, wet fringe sitting over his face. “I’m gonna get you for that.” He said, his voice nonchalant. Harry giggled and sunk underwater once more before Louis scampered up the steps and headed up a couple more, shaking his limbs hopelessly from how wet he’d gotten. He sat himself back down in front of the steering panel, and pushed his hair all the way back from his face.

Louis should be upset, but he really, really wasn’t. It was all fun for him. He and Harry were playful and comfortable with each other. It was nice to be this comfortable with Harry, really, to be able to joke and tease after not seeing each other for so long. This was nice, and honestly, Louis would rather have this than nothing any day.

Before Louis could even think of leaning his head back on the seat to snooze, the catamaran completely stilled. He sat up straight and looked around frantically. He realized it was too, too, too quiet. His eyebrows pinched together and he carefully stood up to see if he could find Harry shimmering underwater. “Haz?” He called out, cupping his hands around his mouth. 

Rather than Harry answering him, something else did. From all around the boat, tall waves of water rose up and up and up, forming curtains that surrounded the boat that didn’t fall _onto_ the boat, but rather enclosed. From eveywhere, the curtains of water curved and met at the top in the air right above the topmost part of the yacht and Louis had fallen back down onto his seat at some point from shock and disbelief. He let out a shaky, surprised breath, staring up and around, but all he saw was liquid glass surrounding him in a… a _bubble_. 

Harry had engulfed the boat into a perimeter-like bubble of ocean water. It held perfectly, too, moving just where it was, _around_ , but never falling or seeping onto the boat at all. It might as well have been protection, like a spherical forcefield from the outside that let Louis breathe and move freely. 

It was beautiful, too, really. Louis headed down to middle deck and sprinted to stand at the bow, staring up at the sky that seemed to glide against itself, but that was the water. It was like he was wearing glasses that distorted his vision to make it seem like everything around him was swimming, but calmly. “Wow…” he whispered, and he meant it. He really fucking meant it. Louis licked his lips and stood up again, unable to keep his eyes from looking around. He truly _was_ trapped in a curtain of water, trapped within it, but it promised safety and beauty, so he couldn't complain. Everything in front of him was the same. There was air and nothing was wet, and this was really the most incredible thing he’d seen since Harry.

“Cool, isn’t it?”

Louis turned around slowly to see Harry standing just behind him, dry and clothed again. His eyes softened immediately and he felt Harry’s hand touch his elbow lightly. Before Louis could possibly know what was happening, he was dry, too. He looked down at himself and reached up to touch his face and his hair. Louis very well knew that Harry was real and that he could do, well, _things_ completely fine, but it was something completely different to get a full blast of it for himself, to be able to witness some protective bubble engulfing him and the boat inside without everything collapsing with horrifyingly brutal pressure.

This was incredible.

“Hang on, Lou.” Harry told him, softly smiling. Louis looked from him and stared straight ahead. Suddenly, the world around them was moving in a blur, but it felt like the boat itself was perfectly still. They were _moving._ If Louis could describe it to himself, it was the same way a plane would move when it went in the air and he himself was still and safe. The thing is, though, that they were on water and everything passed them much faster. “I’m just kidding, you’re alright.”

“What the _fuck_ , Harry…” His eyes widened, not sure what to do, but knowing he wanted to see what he was already seeing _more_. Harry’s hand lowered to Louis’ wrist and he tugged him slowly towards the tip of the bow of the boat. Here, Louis could see much more clearly that this was in fact water. Harry raised his other hand to the curved wall of water and stuck his hand through it. Nothing happened other than Harry’s hand going through it and the water flowing just around where the break was. He pulled his hand back and the spot formed back, like the bubble never had a break in it.

Louis did the same. He stuck his hand out and felt air hitting his skin. It was a bit too much, though, so he pulled it back quickly. Some part of him knew it wasn't exactly logical that the yacht wasn't up in flames, that his hand didn't get snapped or  _something_ like that from being exposed to a rushing world like that, but it was literally all due to  _magic..._ so it was, in that sense, very possible. He looked over at Harry, genuinely at a loss for words. Harry was already smiling over at him and he drew a line to interrupt the seamless flow of water before it was closed again. The speed of the world around them slowed, but not too much. The yacht was traveling fast within a bubble and Louis was going to remember this forever. Just this. It was a wonder he would never be able to explain to anyone and it was all for himself to experience. Louis really _was_ the luckiest human in the world.

A thought crossed his head and he looked at Harry worriedly. “Harry, where exactly are they taking us? You haven’t found out how the compass works.”

Harry shrugged. “Well, I know a gist of where we’re supposed to go. I think it’s when we get there that I’ll have to use it.” Oh. That made sense. Louis nodded slowly and they quietly stared at the watery curtain in front of them.

If Harry’s merfolk language was a visual sort of thing, Louis thought it would look just like this. He pictured it like this. The water was calm but moved softly against itself, bouncing back elegantly and silvery. It was too beautiful. Harry was too beautiful. Louis was sure he would be a great king when this was all done.

“So,” Louis began, crossing his arms and leaning his side against the boat. Harry turned his head to look down at him and Louis grinned. “Where to, Your Grace?”

“Ultima Thule.” Louis blinked. Harry chuckled and shook his hair. It was one of Louis' favorite little things Harry did with his hair. He just shook it in the front and brought it back and over to the side as much as possible. He was captivating. “That’s close by.”

“Tell me all about it. I think we’ve got time to kill, after all.”

Harry nodded enthusiastically, but then started to walk off. Louis watched him retreat and opened his mouth to say something, but Harry turned around so he could walk backwards and look at Louis. “But first, I want some of the sea salt ice cream!” Louis chuckled lowly and rolled his eyes to hide just how endeared he was. 

It seemed Louis introducing Harry to ice cream had been exactly what he wanted, but if Harry was going to go after it already, he was sure there wouldn’t be much left soon. Louis hurried after him as they made their way to the galley inside. Maybe he wanted ice cream, too. Maybe he liked helping Harry scoop it out. Maybe he liked eating a popsicle with Harry comfortably as Harry told Louis about human viking history that he'd learned from sunken ship stories that've been told for generations and all about Ultima Thule. 

Maybe, just maybe.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

**H**

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

The biggest wonder in the world was how in the world Harry was so visibly calm. Inside, he was panicking. How could he not? Knowing _where_ to go wasn’t enough for this entire mission. The rest came with critical thinking and strength. It wasn’t like Harry had ever actually gone against anything horrifying. Louis made it a habit of running back and forth from the lower parts of the yacht to the upper to make doubly, triply sure that everything was comfortable and that they had everything. Of course, Harry had pointed out that if they didn’t have everything, it wouldn’t matter since they were already cruising and Louis had decided to go check everything again out of nervousness.

It turned out they had everything they needed.

"Shall I whistle or hum?" Louis asked as he plopped on one of the couches of the salon and sprawled himself out, adjacent to the one Harry sat on. Harry could see him from the corner of his eyes. With his elbow resting on his other folded arm across his chest and his fist pressed to his mouth in thought, his eyes playing four emotions in a matter of moments from confusion, to distress, to amusement and ending in fondness. A smile pressed into his knuckles, too, and he looked up from the seemingly useless compass to look at Louis.

“I don’t see why not.” Harry mused as he sat straighter, pulled his hand down, and crossed his legs. Louis sighed exaggeratedly and looked over at him. They smiled at each other quietly, easygoing, and Harry looked back down at the compass before he stared too long. “You could whistle.” His smile widened a little as he turned the compass left and right and Louis whistled a familiar tune. Harry sighed and shook his head hopelessly before placing it back in his satchel. Instead, he pulled out the bottles of liquid.

He could honestly wonder. Harry had no idea what these were for. So, he quickly shoved them back into the bag and took out his book.

Harry only got to reading two pages when he felt restless and nervous all over again. He closed his book and was greeted by a question that had always been burning in his head for three long months, ever since he first set his eyes on Louis. He supposed now was a better time than ever to ask him the question. Before Harry could even look up, he felt the space beside him sag as Louis sat next to him. 

“Oh, hello.” Harry said, grinning. Louis’ light eyes were amused and soft. “I was just going to ask you something. So convenient, really.”

Louis raised his eyebrows, smiling wider. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah.” Harry closed his book and turned his body to face him better before leaning his side against the back cushion more, his right arm resting on the top of the couch. “You know that before,” he pointed between the two of them. “we properly met that I, like, saw you before? The first couple of times I snatched your little boats.”

Louis laughed gently. “Yeah, yeah I know.”

“Well, ignore those two times. I’m talking about the day we met.” Louis snorted. “Erm… so, you… I… heard you singing. Something. It wasn’t the one about the _island in the sun_ one. It was this other.” Harry pressed his lips together and furrowed his brows, looking up at the ceiling. The hand that hung down from over the head of the couch lazily lifted up, the back of his hand pressing against his mouth thoughtfully. “Hmm…” Harry shrugged and let his hand fall again. “I don’t remember the words… but it was… it was really nice. I think you sang… maybe one line from it, I’m not sure…”

Harry shrugged again before looking at Louis and wished he didn’t. The way Louis looked at him had his stomach coiling pleasantly. He wondered just how soft Louis could possibly get, but Harry also couldn’t wonder that. He couldn’t want little things like that from Louis. It just. It didn’t make it easier. It really didn’t. Louis was looking at him with sleepy but blissful eyes and a smile that was just so amused. Harry was sure he knew exactly what he was talking about, too, and if Louis did… then… well, Harry didn’t know what to think about that.

“It’s a song called _Beyond the Sea_.” Louis said simply. “Yeah, it er… goes something like… y’know.” He cleared his throat and sang. Sang like it came to him, like he was put on this earth to sing and make Harry melt when he shouldn’t. And then, like that, the line came, the one Harry vaguely remembered. “ _My lover stands on golden sands and watches the ships that go sailing._ ”

Harry snapped his fingers and nearly bounced in his seat, his eyes bright with elation. “That’s it! That’s the song!” Louis knew exactly what song he was talking about. This mere fact screamed in Harry’s head. Louis must know many, many songs. He must’ve fished before so many times and sang to himself each of those times. Maybe that song was a song he sang often, but the fact that Louis remembered just from what Harry told him had Harry’s heart palpitating. His own eyes softened and he nodded with a smile. “That’s the song.”

“Of course it’s the song.” Louis said, his voice high and gentle, as if it was silly, even if it wasn't. “I remember everything about that day.” No, no, no, _no_. Louis couldn’t be _real_ right now. Harry lowered his head and tried so very hard to bite back a smile. He felt like it was dumb to be excited about this. It was just a song. It might be one of Louis’ favorites, too. Who knows? But… really, Harry couldn’t help it. It was just that talking to him for three, long months as honestly as possible with one another had Harry caring and missing him like there was no tomorrow. So, well, despite everything, he supposed it made tons of sense that he just couldn’t shut off feelings.

He wished he could.

Harry got to his feet so his back was turned to Louis. “Yeah. That song. I like it.” He said, heading to the galley to grab himself water. Louis had taught him all about pouring himself water, too. The salt would be gone soon, probably, but it was okay. They were surrounded by salt water anyway. He downed the water as if he’d just come back from running a marathon and set it down with a relieved sigh.

“Do you want to learn how to sing it?” His head was shouting, _no!_ , but Harry’s heart was far too big and overrode it. He turned around with a gleeful smile and nodded, humming as he did so. Harry hurried over and sat right next to him again. Louis grinned and sat up straight. “Alright, then. So, I'm going to get my guitar and a pencil and pap—“ he paused. Louis was looking past Harry.

“What’s up?” 

“Haz…” Louis got to his feet and disappeared from the salon. Harry frowned, but before he knew it, Louis was back, but his arms were wrapped around himself in a hug. “How _fast_ are we going?”

Harry shot to his feet and met Louis halfway. “No idea. Fast? Why? What’s happened?”

Louis shrugged. He looked so much smaller somehow when he was hugging himself and Harry wanted to hug him, too, and try to warm him up. He looked cold. “It’s a bit cold out there seeing as it’s evening. Sort of foggy though. Oh, and we’re nearing _land_. And I need a jumper.”

This time, Harry looked up past Louis to the window. “You’re joking.” Harry whispered, hurrying over to window and looking out. Sure enough, there it was. Were they already around the perimeter of Thule? Which, really, wasn’t all _that_ great because Harry definitely wasn’t sure as to what he was supposed to do now. He turned around quickly and saw Louis had disappeared again. Harry pressed his lips together and strode over to his bag to sling it over his shoulder.

He headed outside and stood over the edge of the yacht, arms draped over it, the bubble of water evaporating slightly. Harry nearly bounced up and down on his feet, and he probably would if he was _excited_. He was more anxious over something he didn’t know to expect. There was land—so this was the Arctic—and these waters were entirely out of his control. No pressure.

The boat was going at a more normal speed now, but still was pushed by the dolphins, manatees, and sharks. Harry took out his compass once more, lifting the lid up with one swipe of his thumb, and stared down at its useless spinning arrow. Still, it pointed nowhere. Harry groaned and threw his head back, eyes glaring up at the sky. It wasn’t as crystal blue as before, but more blue-grey, a little ominous.

He just needed to know where to go and what he was supposed to find. Whatever it is he had to conquer, it would lead him to some gem, and he needed to get to that. Harry reminded himself once again that if kings before him have been able to do this, then so could he. But just… _how_? He groaned and rolled his eyes, visibly antsy and unable to keep still be it his fingers tapping nervously on the boat’s rails or his feet tapping on the floor.

Harry turned his head at a sound. He looked to see Louis walking over to him. If it was possible, he looked somehow much more compact and softer than before. He was wearing a baby blue jumper that looked fuzzy and warm. Louis smiled up at him, his arms out in front of him as he grabbed at the sleeves with his fingers to make them look something like… well, paws. Louis could say he was endearing all he wanted—and, well, he hasn’t since the first day they met, but so what?—but Louis was, too. 

“So?” Louis asked, standing beside him and resting his forearms over the edge. He blinked and arched his neck back in confusion before looking up and all around. “What happened to the… the big… that whole thing?” He asked, gesturing around with his arm but peering up at Harry. 

“Took it down for now. If we’re here, then we’re here, and we don’t need the speed for some time.” He smiled at Louis, though it was a nervous and unsure one. “I just… I want to find what I’ve got to find. I can’t keep wondering forever about this and get nowhere. And if I don’t get some sort of… clue as to where I have to go specifically or what I have to do, I’ll have to just go at it blindly and hope I swim up to whatever it is.” 

Louis gave Harry a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry it’s so unclear to you. I wish I was more help.” 

“You’ve… helped. Always helping. In any way you can. It’s nice. Thank y—“

“Harry.” Louis’ eyes had lowered down to Harry’s hands. Harry frowned and followed his gaze. “What’s it doing?” He asked. Harry blinked and tilted his head with even more possible confusion at his compass. At first, the compass’ arrow spun around in a circle. Now, the arrow pointed forward and to the right. “What’s it doing? Why’s it stopped… acting weird? Is it pointing to North now? I mean, looks like it is…”

Harry’s lips parted, but no words came out. He didn’t _know_. “I don’t… I don’t know…” Harry twisted the compass in his hand. The arrow turned, too, but it did so it always pointed where it just had, like it was persistent. Harry walked around the boat, but the needle always pointed where it stopped. It wouldn’t point north, but just to a direction.

“Maybe you’re supposed to follow it. North. _Oh_. I have a compass on my phone.” Louis laughed. Harry walked back over to him as Louis reached into his pocket. Harry saw him tap some buttons until a compass sort of appeared on the screen. “Let’s compare.” He said, holding his phone out. Harry held the compass right beside the phone and they both hummed thoughtfully in unison. “Alright, I’m gonna tell you right now… my phone is right.”

“Then my compass still isn’t pointing north.” They both slowly exchanged curious looks, the question etched on their faces, but Harry was the one who spoke it. “Then what’s it pointing to?”

They peered down into the water. The manatees were underwater, chilling out. Harry could see that, but barely. The fog had picked up quite a bit to a point where it gave Harry an uneasy feeling. He looked up and around them, seeing that the bit of land far off was pretty much blurred away from the fog. What was going _on_? Was it normal for fog to settle around this quickly?

“Harry!” Louis shouted, pointing. Harry followed his gaze to see from afar what could look like the dorsal fins of sharks rising from the water. Sharks? Harry's eyes narrowed. He'd not think anything of this if it weren’t that there were more than one sticking out of the water, side by side, one by one. Harry and Louis watched them rising up continuously, but the second they started curving and going around, Harry’s heart skipped a beat.

They weren’t dorsal fins. They were teeth.

“You can’t be here.” Harry said quickly before jumping up and into the water with a splash, only able to hear Louis yelling his name before it was muffled by the water. The bubble surrounded the yacht again and Harry hissed in a fury for his animals to get Louis and the yacht _out of here_.

But looking down, fear was crashing into him.

The usual blue of the ocean underneath didn’t surround him. It was a mouth and many, many circular rows of sharp teeth. The thing was that this creature was _big_ and its diameter went far on either side. All Harry could tell was that he was hovering right in the middle of it. Everywhere he seemed to look was a part of this creature's mouth. How could Harry have asked Louis to come along with him?! His tail glowed brightly with the intense feeling of fear and adrenaline coursing through him.

He stuck his head out of the water, only to see that a large circle of teeth was surrounding them far out. Everywhere he turned, they were fenced by teeth, and more and more were popping out. “Harry!” Louis yelled. Harry looked up to see him and the yacht whooshing away. The moment it passed in between a set of teeth, a low, rumbling sound filled the air and ocean around them. It seemed to vibrate the water alone and Harry shook along with it.

“You have to be safe!” Harry called back, but saw the yacht slam left against one of the teeth. Uh oh. Zayn was going to be so mad if anything happened to that boat. Louis had braced himself against the side of the boat as it happened and from far away, Harry could tell he looked frightened. “Fuck.” He whispered, the water lapping around him frantically. The creature made the sound again and waves appeared against the teeth just as Louis escaped the inside of the mouth, the yacht settling just outside of it before pushing forward with difficulty. “ _Faster_!” Harry yelled, and the yacht dashed out of his sight.

The water outside was whirling ferociously. Harry swam behind as hard as he could to grab onto one of the teeth. He spun around and around, the circular jaw of the creature rising upslowly. The water around was violent in the swirl, hitting Harry in the face from every direction, creeping all around him. He was sure he could hear Louis screaming his name though the waves, like the wind carried it just to make his ears even if it shouldn’t be possible. Maybe he was imagining it. Harry clung on for dear life and yelled as the whirlpool crashed against him from every side and the monster clamped his mouth shut, but slow enough for Harry to let go—with his eyes squeezing shut—and fall straight into its mouth and down its throat.

Harry was met with his back slamming into water and his body sinking into it. His eyes opened. Everything was dark, but his tail served as perfect light. Even if he was coming down from his fear and adrenaline rush, Harry was still on high alert. And he was not dead. He wanted to cry. He didn’t move. He couldn’t even register just about what’d just happened and he was sure he was shaking and his gills were working double time from freaking out.

He had to move. He was fine. He had to move.

If he was correct, he was inside the charybdis. That’s what the creature was. He’d never seen one in his life. He supposed he could cross that off his list of… well, just things he never thought he’d come across in his life. Right up there with the purple sunrise. It was so _dark_. He had no idea where to go or what to do. His tail could bring about as much light as it wanted to, but it wasn’t much use. There was nothing around him. It was pitch black.

Harry reached into his satchel, which he was surprised hadn’t fallen away by now. He pulled out one of the silver swords and held it in his hand. If he had to end up stabbing his way out, then so be it. For now, Harry kept moving forward, kicking his caudal fin slowly, trying to see if he could see _anything_ in front of him. Hopefully nothing would come out and attack him by surprise. That he might not be able to survive.

There was a point when doing repetitive action that people hit where you didn’t think about actually doing the action anymore. They just did it. That was Harry after what was most definitely hours later. He was kicking, hovering, looking around, and swimming but saw nothing, hit nothing, met nothing. He was going absolutely nowhere and it was too dark. Harry wasn’t even furious anymore or annoyed that he couldn’t find anything. That had disappeared a while ago. He was just tired and kept going. It was all he seemed to be able to do at this point.

That was when he saw it. After he was sure he’d at least probably end up dying here, he saw it. It was the only bit of light that wasn’t coming from his tail behind him. Even if the light was far away, straight ahead, he saw it. Harry sighed with relief and kicked his caudal fin faster, determined to reach it. Thankfully it wasn’t like some nightmare where no matter how far he kept going forward, the light seemed still farther away. The light _was_ coming closer. Excitementflooded through him as he just kept getting closer and closer and closer…

Harry stopped once he reached it. The light it emitted dimmed ridiculously to a very low pink, but it was an object all the same. The object pulsed timely. _Dud dud. Dud dud. Dud dud._ Harry’s eyebrows knit together. Was it the heart? It must be. It was so _large_ , though, that Harry would have to hold it with both of his arms if he carried it. He lifted the sword and calmly stabbed it through the fleshy organ. It sagged and he heard a loud groan from outside—probably the creature itself—just as whatever was possibly surrounding him started to shake. Harry sheathed his sword into his satchel and grabbed the large heart as the flesh seemed to disappear right before his eyes. The pinkish light grew larger and larger and what he was holding started to harden into a rock. The light was terribly blinding, and it was so much that Harry had to close his eyes.

When the light dimmed from behind his eyelids, Harry felt coolness hitting his skin, like wind. His eyes shot open to see a dark sky. There was no fog. There was no whirlpool. He was outside. 

Did the charybdis also dissolve into nothing?

He was holding something. Right. Harry looked down to see the heart his arms were cradling against his chest, but it wasn’t a heart at all. It was a gorgeous, pink and reddish stone that glistened from different angles. Harry let out a shaky breath and let his tail lower so he wasn’t lying on his back over the water. 

He did it. He got one of the gems.

_Louis._

Harry turned his head left and right, spun around where he hovered. “Louis!” He shouted before stuffing his precious rock into his bag—and the bag was _still_ around his shoulder after everything—before he started swimming about. He lowered himself back underwater and called out for his sea critter friends. Others came around, other fish, other cephalopods, other crustaceans—and then they realized he wasn’t from these waters—but none of them were his friends. Panic struck him again as he looked everywhere in the Arctic, ignoring the foreign, icy water hitting his skin and just willing himself to adapt. 

He swam quite a way, which was definitely far away from the land they’d seen earlier. Harry reached land that was icier. Bits of it crowded around him gradually. He didn’t think it was even possible to get colder, so he dipped underwater to avoid the blocks of ice. Damn the Arctic Ocean. His eyes scanned around frantically and they settled on a polar bear swimming about. What was that bear doing swimming at _night_? Although, maybe that war normal. It's not like Harry lived around here to know. Harry swished his tail to head over to the bear.

“Excuse me.” Harry voiced in his oceanic language. The bear responded cheerfully, but slowly with a deep hello. “Have you seen a yacht boat coming along here? Accompanied by three pairs of large sea animals?”

The polar bear swam up to him and clapped his paws together happily before nodding. He waved for Harry to follow and Harry did, sighing with relief. It was a pretty specific question, too, so Harry had no doubt that this bear would lead him right to Louis. They swam around the jagged curve of the icy land, the bear rising up every so often before speeding away in front of Harry. If he wasn’t so worried about Louis, he’d think the bear unbearably adorable. It was then that the bear stopped ahead of him and Harry swam even faster to meet him.

Both the polar bear and Harry rose above the water and Harry saw it. The yacht. It was more or less resting close to the icy land with the yacht anchored. Harry swam quickly over to the stairs and hoisted himself up on the lowest step. “Thank you.” He whispered to the polar bear, who nodded sagely and got up onto the ice themselves. Harry pulled his tail up so he could dry in an instant before getting to his feet and walking up onto the boat.

Louis was huddled in the salon with the duvet wrapped around himself. Harry saw him through the window. He didn’t look happy. He looked tired, scared, sleepy, and his eyes weren’t bright. Harry quietly slid the door open to enter and silently walked over to sit beside him on the couch. Louis jumped as the sofa sagged next to him and he looked at Harry, whispering an, “Oh my god,” and looking away to cover his face with his hand. Louis sucked in a sharp, deep breath before letting it out in a huge gust, dragging his hands down the length of his face.

Harry didn't know what to say because it just so happened to be very clear that Louis thought he had died.

“You got… you—what the _fuck_ , Harry?!” He whispered loudly, digging the palms of his hands into his eyes and sniffling. Harry's heart sank. “Do you know what?” He asked, pulling his hands down and grabbing the sides of the duvet to cover him up even more. Louis let out a breath of a laugh that wasn’t at all humorous, not looking at Harry, but looking down at his lap. “You are so lucky those animals listen to you and did… so much to make sure I didn’t jump off the boat to go after you.”

The weight of those words were heavy in the air. They pressed down into Harry, crushing him gently, putting some image in his head that thankfully didn’t occur and making him feel even worse than he did. He should bring Louis home. He shouldn’t have asked him to come if this was… how it was. Harry didn’t think Louis would worry so _much_ and feel like this. He didn’t mean to scare him like that. He didn’t. 

“Lou… I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… to frighten you.” 

“Honestly, Harry, I’m only human and when some monster is making this… _giant_ whirlpool that the boat I’m on is impossibly jetting away from and I see _you_ …” Harry saw Louis’ throat bob as he swallowed hard and looked up at him, his eyes laced with extreme exhaustion. “Like, I saw you. Like… hanging on. And then like… well… y’know, the water sort of covered everything up at some point, like, it was… I’d _never_ seen something like this before, Haz. And like…” Louis blinked slowly, biting his lip. “I mean I saw you screaming and I saw it… coming around to close… it’s mouth. Like, what the _fuck,_ that was its _mouth_. And then…” 

Louis paused, exhaling shakily. Harry saw his eyes darting across his face worriedly. “I was actually really horrified because there was so much violent water and I was... _away_ from that. Your… I don’t know what you did to those sea animals, Haz, but they can _swim_. Against a lot of pressure of water like… no… no animal could’ve gotten away from that monstrosity. It was fucking _whirling_ like… and it was huge. It was so huge and it had so many teeth and…” 

Tears started to pool against Louis’ lower lashes, but they didn’t fall yet because it wasn’t so extreme. Harry stared at them. He’d _never_ seen that in his life. Was Louis dying? What _was_ that? “No, no, Louis. Don’t—what’s happening to you?” Harry asked, his hands flying to hold Louis’ face, thumbs pressing softly against the skin under his eyes. A drop of water fell from one of Louis’ eyes and landed against the pad of Harry’s thumb. “No, Louis, you’re falling apart. Don’t die.”

Louis let out something like a laugh and sob. “You’re the one who… got eaten by a… whatever that was… and… you’re telling _me_ not to die because I’m crying? The nerve of you, honestly.”

He was _crying?_

Harry was still, frozen. His lips parted, trying to think of something to say, but nothing came out, so he retracted his hands nervously and tucked them in his lap. Louis wiped at his face with his sleeve and frowned, knitting his eyebrows together. “I suppose you can’t tell you’re… tearing up. When you cry, I mean. Like. In the water.” _Right_. That made… a lot of sense, actually. Harry pressed his lips together and nodded, peering at Louis with a serious expression as if expecting him to start crying again. He didn’t want that. He never wanted to see Louis look like _that_ again.

“I never want to see you sad again.” Harry voiced quietly. Louis sighed, giving Harry a sad, lopsided smile. “I’m serious.”

“I know.” Louis smiled. “Don’t die and you won’t.” Harry wanted to kiss his cheek, hold him and squeeze him and apologize again, but he already did enough. He shouldn’t have taken his face in his hands like that. Harry raked a nervous hand through his hair, trying to think that maybe it was okay because he genuinely thought Louis was falling apart right in front of his eyes. It was an honest mistake. It was okay. “So?”

“So? Harry asked, offering him a smile.

Louis’ eyebrows raised. “I better not have worried for hours about your wellbeing for nothing. Did you… did you do it? Like, did you… I don’t know. What’d you get as a reward?”

Harry grimaced. “Right.” Relief crossed his features. They seemed okay again. At least, Louis seemed okay. Harry reached into his satchel to pull out the precious rock. “Look at that. It was, I think, disguised as a beating heart. It's huge.” He exclaimed in excitement. Louis looked at the rock in awe.

“Shit, Harry.” He whispered softly, blinking a little and breaking into a smile. "That's not even, like, a rock, really, but more like a fucking continent." They both laughed quietly and sighed. It glistened with pinks, reds, yellows, oranges and whites from every angle. It was honestly captivating. A tail would be gorgeous with stones like this. Harry himself was looking at it incredibly, in full disbelief that something like this was this divine and in his hands.

“Louis, are you _seeing_ this right now? Like _really_ seeing this?”

“ _Yes_. It’s a precious gem, of course I am.” Louis laughed, his voice small, and Harry felt Louis' head drop onto his shoulder, resting. Harry stiffened, but only for a moment. Even if he knew it was probably a bad idea to let him do that, Harry was endeared that Louis even did. He turned his head a little, greeted by soft, tousled hair that smelled like sweetened sea to see Louis was real and looking the way he did, wrapped up in that red duvet from his bed that matched the gem in his own hands. Looking gentle. Looking like a softer gem. Was he comfortable? He hoped so. Did he know he shined more than the rock in his hands? He hoped so, too. “It’s gorgeous.”

“It is.” Harry whispered, but he wasn’t looking at the rock.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

**L**

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

At some point, Louis didn’t know _when_ , Harry had gotten the boat to start moving after Louis pulled the anchor back up. Honestly, he was glad to start moving away from such cold waters. He’d tucked Harry into bed and made sure he had salt water at his side. The bubble was around the yacht and he knew they were off, but able to sleep, and boy did they both need sleep. If the rest of the trip was going to be like this, Louis was going to sleep for a hundred years whenever he got home.

The morning brought sun again and Louis was filled with a hope that there wouldn’t be any storms in their travels. Of course, under the circumstances and an ounce of realism, it was unlikely they’d be storm free. He showered and got dressed before heading down to Harry’s cabin on the other side of the yacht. Louis yawned and lightly slapped his face to wake up, but it was easier wished for than done. He was tired and that was that. He would probably be tired all day, honestly.

“Hazza?” Louis called from outside his door. No answer. He sighed and headed up to the salon and pushed the glass door open, only to see that Harry was out in the cockpit, lounging with a mirror and running his seaweed through his hair. Louis smirked to himself, shaking his head fondly as Harry ran his fingers though his hair, shaking it and making sure it was soft. “There you are.”

“Had to take care of my tail a bit. Spent some time in the water and stuff.” He peered down at the mirror on his lap and stuffed the plant into his handy dandy bag. Harry’s fingers fluffed at his hair and Louis was so, so endeared at this little trait of Harry’s. He really took care of himself the way he knew how to. “Can’t let it, like, get rusty or infected or, like, lose its shine. Especially since I forgot to do it the second time yesterday what with the… charybdis swallowing me up sort of affecting most of the day.”

Louis exhaled from his nose as a sort of amused laugh. “You say it like that sort of thing happens every day. No big deal.” Harry was here. At the end of the day, that’s what mattered. During the time that Harry was gone and Louis was on the boat, fretting over what could’ve possibly happened to him, he had to busy himself with anchoring the yacht when the sea critters sped it near towards icier parts that would eventually turn into land. He didn’t care if that was bad for the boat or not because Harry could’ve been dead and he wouldn’t know what to do with that information. He had tried to nap it off and think that Harry would come back, that he was fine, that… that kings did this before him and survived, that it was going to be just _fine_ , but what he saw had horrified him to the bone. He had a nightmare replay of it last night, too. It wasn’t good.

But Harry was here and it was okay. They were both okay. It was just… it was okay. Nothing happened. Louis was sure he was still shaken up by it somewhere in the back of his head, but he slept it off and everything was fine. It really… was. He just didn’t ever, ever want to see Harry get swallowed up by a gigantic whirlpooling monster—and the like—ever again. Then he’d be perfectly fine.

“Want food?” Louis asked.

“I had a couple of barnacles and krill, actually, I’m good.” Harry told him with a bright smiling. Louis returned it with his own sleepy one as he headed back inside to make himself tea and scrambled eggs. When he headed back outside the cockpit, he set his plate and mug on the table in the middle of the sofas. He looked at Harry, who was staring into his mirror with deep concentration. “What’s up?” He asked, cutting into this food and popping it into his mouth.

“This mirror is linked to the kingdom. I… I get to see the throne room and stuff like that. Get to see… everything, really. It’s one way, but, I mean…” He sighed. “Basically the magic that keeps us hidden is going to run out by tomorrow the latest. There’s no way it’s going to hold.” Louis frowned, inching closer to Harry and resting the side of his head beside Harry’s so he could look into the mirror, too. “The mirror can be a mirror, and it is, but it’s also a countdown to how much time I’ve got left before we’re ultimately vulnerable. See that... that sort of staff thing against the empty throne?” Louis nodded. It was guarded by some merfolk with spears. "That's my father's scepter. Well... I mean, I guess it's sort of  _mine_ now. It's the heart of all the powers in the Atlantic that keep us safe."

“We’ll just have to get you through this whole journey as fast as possible, then.” Louis told him confidently. Harry suddenly turned his head to look at Louis, their heads still touching by the temple, by the forehead, and their gazes locked. Louis swallowed, wanting to kiss away any nerves Harry had and hug him tightly, and Harry was looking at him with such doe eyes that were impossible to look away from. But _really_ , if Harry could survive getting swallowed up by a whirlpool monster, then Harry could do anything.

Their eyes were wide and curious, the tiniest pink tints rising in their cheeks before Louis remembered Harry had made it kind of clear a couple of days ago that these things couldn’t happen. He felt embarrassment forming in his gut as he turned back to continue eating his breakfast.

“How are you, by the way?” Harry asked. Louis could feel his eyes on him. Harry was too much. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m alright. Are you?” Louis asked with a smile. Harry set his mirror down and leaned his elbows on the table with his chin in his hands. Now, how was Louis supposed to not look at Harry when he did this stuff? He smiled a little wider to himself and turned his head to look at Harry. They were pretty attached to each other, it seemed, and Louis didn’t mind if this was all he could get. “You’re so funny.”

“What’re you eating? What is this… this… thing?” Harry asked, nodding down to the plate.

“Eggs and bacon. Do you want to try?”

Harry gasped. “ _Eggs_?!”

“It’s not caviar, oh my god.” Louis laughed. “It’s—Haz, these eggs… never were gonna happen. They were never going to be babies.” Harry sighed in relief. “God, no. That'd be awful. Chicks are also really very cute.” Louis had an idea. He took his phone out to show Harry a photo of a baby chick. “Look how cute the real ones are.”

Harry frowned. “I’m not eating a dead… a dead… puffball, then?”

“Nope.”

Harry’s smile was everything as he looked down at the photo and then up at Louis. “I’d love to try, then. Okay.” He pulled his arms down and wiggled his fingers at Louis’ fork and knife, which pulled a laugh out of Louis. He handed Harry his fork and knife and fixed his fingers to hold them better before showing him how to cut into the egg and cut up a bit of bacon.“Like this?” Harry asked, and it appeared Harry’s hands didn’t look comfortable doing that. 

With a small laugh, Louis helped him. “Almost.” He told him as he draped his hands over Harry’s, and was entirely unaware of Harry looking at him, not at all paying attention to the human technique of cutting into eggs and bacon. “So, the fork’s supposed to kind of hold… the food down so that, y’know, when you cut into it with the other, it doesn’t move everywhere and make it more difficult.” He was explaining it well, right? Louis looked at Harry and stared, but smiled kindly as his heart fluttered into his throat—as silly as that sounded—and he cleared his throat before pulling his hands down. “You can try now.”

Harry smiled to himself and cut the food perfectly. He poked the egg slice and bacon through before popping it into his mouth. Louis hated him. Not really. Not at all. What an asshole. Harry was only playing dumb.

“So… where do y’reckon we’re at?” Louis asked when Harry swallowed. He took a slow sip of his tea and let the warmth fill him up. 

“Bering Sea.” Harry answered easily, and Louis spit back the tea in his mug out of surprise. Harry blinked at Louis, frowning with the slightest pouting lips. “Poseidon, what did I say?” Louis laughed against the brim of his mug, because that was a cute merperson thing, really, but he licked his lips and set the mug down. Gross, really. So gross.

“I ask again, how fast are we going?”

“Faster than yesterday. A lot faster.”

Louis bit his lip and looked around. “Did they get any rest?” He asked, standing up and hopping up onto the side of the boat to peer down. Harry followed him closely behind. “The sharks… they always have to keep… moving, don’t they? At least great whites have to, right?” Louis was sure that was a fact. It had something to do with how they breathed, too. Now that he thought of it, the sharks did seem to venture off on their own when they brought Louis to safety away from the whirlpool monster. They’d been gone a while at that time, but came back just in time for them to take off again.

He looked up at Harry beside him for confirmation and Harry nodded proudly, another smile gracing his perfect features. “And?” Harry asked, nodding for him to continue. “You’re smart and your mum takes care of animals for a living and you want to… study stuff with the ocean, right?” Louis’ heart skipped a beat for a moment. Harry remembered that? “You definitely know this.” 

Biting his lip, Louis sprinted to the other side of the yacht. “The manatees… they…” Did they sleep? Yes, but it wasn’t like how anyone thought they might. Different hours or something. “They…” He’d definitely learned about them once when he went to an aquarium ages ago, but… his mind was simply drawing a blank with it. Louis sighed, lifting his head up from looking down the other side to look at Harry. He was always next to him. They were always next to each other. He kind of liked that more than he knew he should. “I don’t know. Teach me?”

“Manatees sleep in short increments of the day.” Harry voiced, grinning and seeming far too giddy that Louis didn’t know something, that he got to teach Louis something new. Louis could understand, too. Humans knew a lot about the sea and merfolk didn’t know nearly as much about humans, so Louis was usually teaching Harry more than Harry taught Louis. “They… like, yeah they just rest throughout. Come to the surface to breathe for a few minutes, then head back down and go about their day.”

Louis beamed and walked around him. He headed up towards the back steps and sat down on them. Harry sat right beside him, resting his forearm over his knees. “And what about Jackie and Evan here? Do they sleep? I actually…” Louis thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t know if they even sleep at all, really.”

“Dolphins need to be conscious to breathe. So, like, they can’t really sleep like how you and I can.” Louis nodded. So… did they never? “They’d suffocate if they did. They… they solved it somehow, I don’t know. They do sleep, but not really. S’like half of them is awake, half of them isn’t. I don’t know how to describe it, really.” Harry shrugged. “I just talk to them really and observe. We’re only merfolk and sea animals. Don’t have all of those fun… contraptions you humans have.”

A laugh tumbled out of Louis. “On a scientific note, it sounds like they let one half of their brain sleep at a time.” Harry blinked at Louis, his eyes wide. “I’m serious, that’s a thing. I—I don’tknow if you know what… a rabbit is. No, you don’t. So, that’s another furry animal. Hang on.” Louis took his phone out to show Harry a photo of a rabbit, but then paused. What he was going to say had nothing to exactly do with half a brain sleeping, but for some reason, it reminded him of this small fact about animals who had eyes on the sides of their head rather than in the front. “So, that’s a rabbit.”

“Oh…” Harry gasped, taking the phone and staring down at it. “Louis, that’s so… that’s amazing. All these soft looking animals. Wow, it looks so cute…”

“Aren’t they?” Harry hummed delightedly, his eyes bright with happiness as he hugged the phone to his chest. “Do you see that its eyes are on the side of its head? Not like ours, right? Oursface forward and we see one image, yeah?”

Harry blinked. “I-I think… yes… I think I know what you mean… okay…”

“Imagine if you saw your world… from two perspectives. Like, you could see stuff on your left and right at the same time. That’s how rabbits see the world from their point of view, but they don’t come together as one image like our eyes.”

Harry lowered his eyes, looking thoughtful for a moment. Louis was afraid he’d said too much and yet… he really wasn’t, because Harry was actually very, very smart. It was in no time that Harry was looking back up at Louis and opening his mouth to say something. “Because… because they’re on the side… because they’re on the side. And it’s like… they don’t overlap. That sounds really… safe, actually. Like, they could have eyes almost everywhere, could look out from the sidelines just because they can see that way.”

Louis smiled again. “That’s exactly it! Rabbits are not predators so they don’t need forward vision. They need side vision because they're prey so they can look out for predators on all sides like that.”

“That makes… so much sense.” Harry bounced up and down a tiny bit in his seat. “Kind of like flounders?”

“Yes! That’s exactly it!”

Harry was happy to make his own comparison between a land and sea creature. “I like this. I like learning about your land animals.”

“I like learning about your sea animals, actually. Tell me more. More and more and more.”

And Harry did tell him more. Louis learned that blue whales were the sweetest whales in Harry’s opinion and were the loudest creatures on the planet. Blue whales were also an ideal way to transport many merfolk from one place to another, like for a reef trip. (Apparently, a reef trip was a trip schools of merfolk could go to... like a _field_ trip). Harry also said that those that could change gender such as starfish and oysters and the like often helped infertile or same-sex merfolk have children. (Louis called bullshit and Harry was dead serious, laughing, but so dead serious, and Louis was enamored at what a friendly and accepting place the ocean seemed to be). He learned about the Mola Mola, which was apparently an Ocean Sunfish, that could lay up to five million eggs at a time, but female oysters can produce over a hundred million in her life time. Louis was shocked and amused to find shrimp only swam backwards. Starfish have an eye on the tip of each arm. Octopi are shy but unbelievably intelligent. Seahorses mate for life. Merfolk try, and it's an apparently sweet experience with their tails wrapping around each other, glowing with the genuine love the couple would have for one another. Harry said it apparently filled their bodies with a feeling that was inexplicable, emotional and overall overwhelmingly ecstatic. Louis liked the sound of that, but didn't ponder on it so much since he was just... very human.

It was a long, incredible lesson that Louis only asked more and more about with each fact. Harry was more than happy to answer, too, and he was so joyful in doing so. Louis could see that Harry _loved_ to talk about the ocean and its inhabitants, could see it in Harry’s eyes that Harry absolutely adored his home. Harry could say that he wanted something new as much as he wanted whether it be in the human world or another world, but he couldn’t deny the truth that he loved his ocean.

Louis loved that he loved the ocean and he hoped he could love the human world just as much someday.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

**H**

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

Louis had music on his phone and it was the most incredible thing to Harry. Although, to be fair, everything of the human world sort of seemed incredible. Nothing ceased to amaze him. It was like he _knew_ Louis’ phone held music, sure, but he never actually saw—or really _heard—_ it coming from his phone until today. It was because his mother called him and Louis said he had some sort of advanced roaming thing active. Harry had said a loud hello as he walked by Louis, and Louis laughed and said that it was just his friend Harry.

Harry shouldn’t be as upset as he was about that, but it lasted for a moment.

Louis’ phone was blasting music and he was playing along with his guitar to whatever it was that was playing. They lounged outside, sitting next to each other on the back of one of the stairs on the lowest step. It was so very okay since Louis was here with music and they were just enjoying themselves before they arrived around the edge of Australia. With the invisible speed they were going, Harry at least expected them to get there by nighttime. 

“Alright, so.” Louis strummed the strings on his guitar. “ _When you’re on a holiday, you can’t find the words to say. All the things that come to you and I wanna feel it, too_.” He was writing out the lyrics on paper for Harry. “In case you forget how they go, since you’ve only really heard it once or twice… you can always have it now.” Louis told him. Harry was grateful because he did forget most of how the song went. It was a nice one, too, and he didn’t want to forget it again. “Do you want to know that other song, too?”

“ _Beyond the Sea_?” Harry asked, humming delightedly with a nod. Louis looked up at him and chuckled warmly. “Very much so, yes. What's the one playing on your phone now?”

"It's called  _Chances_ by Five for Fighting." Harry liked this song a lot. He could hear the words from the song and couldn't help comparing it to his own life, feel very nostalgic with the purple sunrise, with meeting Louis, with each other talking about taking chances. This was another chance they were taking, just being here, doing this, talking to each other. It made him smile to no end.

He was entertained with seeing a pencil on paper. The soft scratch of the grey tip on paper had easily become one of Harry’s new favorite sounds, too, if he blocked out the song from the phone. It was also something warm to see the way Louis wrote, able to make out his messy scrawl that he had come to recognize so easily. It was like this small thing just confirmed that all those letters and the words they shared were very real. This was Louis’ handwriting and Louis writing was actually a pretty thing all together. With his guitar against his chest and Louis muttering the words under his breath, pausing every few moments to hum and sing before he wrote down the rest, it was easily a sight and sound Harry hoped he’d never forget.

“How do you learn all of this on your own?” Harry asked, resting his chin on his bent knees that were hugged to his chest. Louis smiled without looking at him and lifted his hand with the pencil to tap Harry’s feet with the eraser end. “By the way, these little boats are really nice. They might be my favorite.” The little boats were the pair of green sandals Louis had gotten him. They would always be his favorite. “Next to the comic ones I never got to snatch from you.”

Louis threw his head back to laugh. “You really liked those, huh?”

“I did. But I think I couldn’t wear them.” Louis raised his eyebrows in surprise. “They’re meant for you. They’re… like… _your_ style, I think. And I feel like then I’d be… copying you a bit. I like the ones I chose when we went to the bazaar of merchant shop—“

“The mall, yeah.” Louis giggled. Harry scoffed lightly and lowered his legs into the water. His tail replaced his jeans and sandals—which was a bit of a silly combination, but Harry couldn't find it in himself to care—and his shirt disappeared entirely. It even amazed  _him_  that this happened. Louis glanced over at Harry with the subtlest head movement, never stopping his writing.

“Shh,” Harry whispered. “the _bazaar of merchant shops_ ,” Louis scrunched his nose, looking up at Harry with a small smile. “anyway, before I was rudely interrupted and corrected with your human vocabulary that I will never absorb, I was saying I like the ones I came across when we went to the bazaar full of merchant shops the other day.” Louis’ eyes softened and he nodded. Harry lightly swished his tail that was dipped in the water to tickle Louis’ feet.

“Get away from me,” Louis’ voice was incredibly soft and full of fondness, amused as he bicycled his feet against Harry’s large caudal fin in a very sad attempt to kick it away. They laughed happily and Louis shook his head. “You’re lucky I don’t tickle you to death. After all, I know you’re extremely ticklish.” The two of them froze, and they acted at the same time. Louis shouted and Harry pushed himself off of the yacht’s lowest steps to fall into the water. Louis had just missed the chance by a second too late, but Harry rose up on the second set of stairs on the other side. Harry stuck his tongue out and sat on the bottom step, only for Louis to frown. “I was kidding, come back. You’re far away.”

Harry crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re going to tickle me if I come back. Absolutely not.”

Louis raised his eyebrows at him before shrugging. “Fine, fine. Then that’s it for song learning for today.” He made to get up and stomped up the stairs before jumping up onto the boat and entering the salon. Harry’s mouth fell open as he watched him leave.

“No, what?” Well, now it looked like Harry had to get dry already and go after him. There was no way around it. He couldn’t believe Louis was testing him like this. It was just plain rude, but Harry loved every bit of it.

Harry was in the salon in minutes and sat right besides Louis. “Out of curiosity, do you prefer tight jeans or what?” Louis asked without looking up. It was actually a good thing that when Harry was dry, whatever clothes he had been wearing before seemed to come right back. Peering down at himself, Harry shrugged. “Is it because it reminds you of how your tail feels or something?” Louis peered up at him, his eyes sincere with curiosity.

“Actually, yeah. At first, y’know, when I tried them all in the…” Harry sighed and Louis smiled, expectant. “in the _mall_ , they were a surprise, sure. But… yeah. You’re spot on with that, actually.”

Louis nodded, looking like he was trying to understand that sort of logic, but then he shrugged and rested his arms over his guitar. “So, are you gonna behave? I won’t tickle you if you behave.”

Harry positively beamed and he nodded enthusiastically. “Promise I’ll behave, yes. And, like, can we go back to you teaching me words of songs again?”

“How can I say no to that?” Louis asked, his voice softer from what it was just seconds ago as he went back to writing the lyrics down on paper. “Alright, so… we were here…” he stated, singing some line again, and Harry rested his chin on his shoulder, reading the words that sounded like nautical poetry and trying to remember them on his own, sing them in his head, when an incredible, incredible question popped into his head.

“Louis?”

“Hmm?”

“What’s your favorite song?”

From the corner of his eye, Harry could see Louis smile incredibly fast. “Ah…” he looked up at the ceiling and bit his lip. Harry only turned his head subtly to look at him, still keeping his chin on his shoulder. “I… I actually know the answer to that. It’s uh… a song called _Your Song_  by musician named Elton John. It’s… it’s a really… I love the words to it. A lot.” Louis turned his head to look at Harry. Their faces were close again, but Harry was full of so much peace that all he could do was smile at him lazily with large eyes. Louis did, too. Smile lazily, that is. It was nice.

“Is it on your phone?” Louis nodded sweetly. “It must be brilliant if it’s your favorite song.”

“It kind of is, yeah.”

Harry narrowed his eyes at him. “Do I have to ask? Really? Do I have to _beg_? I was hoping I was being a _little_ obvious.”

A soft laugh fell from Louis’ lips before he turned to look down at the piece of paper again with the pencil going back to flying across it.“One song at a time, Haz. I’m only human, after all.” For some reason, Harry was sure Louis was only screwing with him. He was sure Louis was intent on making Harry wait. “And, y’know… my hand _is_ starting to cramp up a tiny bit.” Yup. Louis was definitely doing this on purpose.

“Is it because it’s _your song_ that you’re elongating me hearing the greatest song ever?” Harry asked.

“‘Your Song’ is the title, remember? I don’t know what you’re going on about.” Harry wanted to fight him. Playful sarcasm was ringing from Louis’ voice and Harry huffed before pulling away from his shoulder and crossing his arms. Louis laughed and shrugged happily. “I don’t know why you’re so upset. It’s just a song.”

“You’re making me wait on purpose.” Harry pointed out.

Louis shrugged again. “There’s literally no proof of that, now, is there?” He looked over at Harry with the most mischievous face Harry’d ever seen. He laughed again and set his pencil down before curling and uncurling his fingers into and from a fist. “I am half serious, actually.” Louis said, his voice back to being genuine. “Hand’s a bit cramped up. You’re going to know bunches of songs after I’ve written them out. Promise. You won’t even shut up after you’ve learned them by heart.”

It was impossible to stay angry at Louis. Actually, Harry had never been angry at Louis, or, at least, not since the first day they met. Even then, it was impossible to stay mad at him. Harry wasn’t even _genuinely_ mad. It was all playfulness. His dimpled smile crossed his face and his eyes danced with happiness. “I can’t wait, Lou—”

It was one of the most unexpected things. The yacht was shaken. They both grabbed onto the sofa underneath them—Louis grabbed onto the arm on his left, Harry reached forward with his hand to grip the coffee table in the middle—and felt the yacht being bumped into so roughly it tipped back and forth on its sides. Harry’s eyes widened in fear as he jumped to his feet and headed outside.

When he jumped up to reach the edge’s railings of the boat, Harry touched the curtain of water that surrounded them for it to disappear. He leaned forward, seeing that the boat was still above the water, unmoving, but saw something large swimming just under the water, fast and violent—which, had Harry wondering, _where_ did the sea animals that ventured with them go?—as it came towards the boat. Louis came up beside Harry, gripping the railing and staring down with wide eyes.

“What is that?!” He asked.

“Hold on!” Harry shouted as the sea monster disappeared under the boat and bumped into it again, harder this time. They both clung to the railings for dear life as the boat tipped this way and that before settling down again, water splashing underneath them and over them. Without their sea companions, Louis and the yacht were stuck _here._ Where had they gone? “I’ve got to get you away from here.”

“Where’d the sharks and… and the…” Louis asked, looking over at Harry worriedly before looking back into the water. The foam from the splashes was evading, making the water look a little _too_ calm. “Look, if you have to get _eaten up_ again and I _watch_ , I swear to god, Harry—“ The boat was bumped into yet _again_ , but from behind them, tipping to the side, but Harry and Louis were going down forward. Harry heard Louis yelp and gasp as they gripped tightly on the rails, their feet nearly slipping off the boat. “I’ll _kill_ you!”

“I’m holding you to that!” Harry shouted back. 

He couldn’t stay here, holding on and waiting until the boat tipped over. He had to think fast. When the yacht was back on its bottom, Harry and Louis both used every muscle in themselves to get their feet back up onto the boat and inch away from the edge, heading back onto the cockpit again, breathing heavily, but Louis suddenly perked his head up and snapped his fingers. “Harry! The compass.”

“We already know the _thing_ is underneath us, Lou.”

Louis shook his head. “No, no. You need to find the sharks and the manatees and Jackie and Evan and _honestly_ do the sharks and manatees have names? You never told me other than Opal's. Can we call them all, like, Voyage Crew or something?” Harry was shocked that he _could_ laugh, shocked Louis could joke at a time like this. Maybe this was why he was so fond of him, too, because Louis could make anything horrible sound lighter than it was. Louis smiled, but it lasted for a moment. “I’m serious, the compass, Haz.”

“Right. Compass.”

There was no time to lose, especially when the monster roared and shook the water beneath them so much from the vibration that Harry gripped at anything he could. He made his way to his satchel inside. He slung it over his shoulder and grabbed his compass before sprinting back out. The compass, Harry observed, was acting useless once more, so Harry told Louis to head inside just in case. They bickered about it, but Louis did end up heading inside and sitting down bitterly as Harry peered down at the compass. _Where are they…_

The arrow pointed west. “We’ve got a heading.” Harry whispered. Now he understood how this compass worked. 

Louis was back at his side and Harry almost screamed. “Harry, before you get mad—“

“If this yacht actually tips over and it eats you, I’m not going to live with myself, y’know that?” Harry snapped as they headed to the edge once more. 

“Will you _please_? It doesn’t seem like it wants to…” He leaned over the railing and the creature bumped into the boat once more. They both grabbed on so they wouldn’t fall as the yacht tipped left and right, left and right. “Honestly, you need a _real_ pet or something. I know you’ve got dolphins but _really_ , Harry.” 

Harry frowned, gripping tight to the metal. “What do you mean?”

“It needs something. It's asking _for_ something, doing the most inconvenient thing possible to grab your attention, can't you tell? It doesn’t seem like it’s trying to hurt us or it would’ve just…” Louis tilted his head as he studied the creature underwater. “Honestly, it looks like a big, fat snake throwing a temper tantrum.” 

Was Louis on to something? They jolted when the boat was rammed into again, but now, Harry felt unfazed by it, and Louis seemed calm, too. “So, what do you think?”

“Talk to it, I don’t know!”

He stared at Louis for a moment. This sounded _mad_. He bit his lip and nodded tightly, giving in to the suggestion. He hoped Louis was right. “Don’t let go.” He said, his voice strong and stern. Louis nodded surely and gripped at the railing even tighter, his knuckles going white with the desperation to keep safe from just this, to make it a point that he would keep holding on. With that, Harry dove right into the water before he could think about the fact that the monster was right underneath him. For a moment, he’d forgotten. Whoops.

It moved and Harry moved with it, grabbing on. His tail replaced his legs and it glowed softly from the adrenaline that came at him mercilessly. The thing was long. That was what he could figure. He looked behind him, seeing that its body was even longer than he had expected, seeming to go forever. It seemed to be something like a serpent. Harry looked forward and down, feeling the texture of the creature. It was scaly and rough, and that meant it _definitely_ wasn't good that Harry was _on_ it. He could easily get hurt just from a surface this hard. Not to mention that he was sure the front of his tail could feel it, scraping against it. Harry did his best to ignore it.

He bolted off of it. The sea monster turned and faced him. Harry had seen pretty big things before in his life. This had… taken the cake. It was thrice the size of a blue whale and Harry was honestly a bit horrified staring at it. It opened its mouth and roared so loud that Harry covered his ears and yelled with it. Its fangs were long and sharp, promising death if they crushed into his body. Harry wasn’t planning on death today. Not in a long, long time, even. No, he could do this.

The serpent rushed at him and Harry didn’t move, even if that horrifying, reptilian thing was coming at him at full speed. Harry sucked in a deep breath, his gills expanding the most they had in some time, and his own oceanic voice rang in the water surrounding them both. _“STOP!_ ” Harry said, his mouth not moving as the language ripped into sounds to form words only the ocean could understand. The sea serpent stopped right in front of him and closed its mouth slowly. It made a soft sound, but it was still loud enough to vibrate against the water. Harry tried to ignore the pounding of his heart all around his body and lifted his head high. “What do you want?”

It spoke only one word and Harry honestly was a little horrified from what it asked. It was vague and Harry wasn’t confident in himself to deliver. What if he somehow did it _wrong_? What if he fucked up and the serpent ended up killing him _and_ Louis? Harry gulped, repeating the one demand over and over and over again in his head. 

_Sing._

He could see why this was a mission for merfolk. Harry was the only merman to ever speak to a human in what seemed like forever, after all. This test would make any merman quiver with nervousness and uncertainty. Harry was worried, too, but not as much as he probably would be if he had never met Louis, seeing as he was actually the only merman familiar with the concept.

“Will you free my friends if I do? And stop hitting the boat?”

The serpent nodded its head. Harry blew out air from his mouth, making bubbles tumble out. He was so relieved. He swam up to the surface and hurried to the stairs of the boat, bringing himself up and turning around to see Louis still leaning over the railings, looking worried. He would need Louis’ help with this one. There was no doubt about that. He supposed it was actually a good thing that Louis was here. Things just seemed to work out like that. He opened his mouth to call out for Louis, but Louis turned his head first and sprinted over to him, stopping at the top of the steps.

“What do you need?”

For a moment, Harry didn’t say anything. He was so in awe that Louis seemed to always, always, always be ready to help him no matter what it might entail. Thankfully this wasn’t so big like everything else Louis' helped him with, but still. The way Louis had asked was so immediate and honest that Harry’s heart swelled. Somehow, he had to give back to Louis. Another wish was definitely in his near future. “Always jumping to help, you are.” Harry said with a small smile. Louis returned it, though his mouth was closed, but Harry saw it in his eyes. “I have to sing, believe it or not. Do you think you could help with that?

“I might know a song or two, yeah.” Louis laughed. Harry almost wanted to splash him, but Louis was already bounding away. He was so grateful it hurt him a little. He looked forward and sighed, letting his tail swish underwater lazily. The water was now calm, but Harry could see the serpent underneath it clear as day. Harry gasped when the serpent rose its head out of the water and eyed Harry like he was a piece of meat. Harry gulped silently before lifting his head up high. He heard Louis’ steps coming behind him before they stopped. “Oh… my…”

The serpent’s eyes left Harry and glared icily at Louis. Harry bit his lip and looked behind him, patting the space on the step next to him. He gave Louis a reassuring nod. Louis looked scared out of his wits, eyes practically falling from their sockets. He could understand. He really could. As Louis liked to remind him, the guy was only human, after all. “Come sit, Lou.” Harry whispered. Louis let out a shaky breath and Harry was reminded of when they met. “You were scared of me once, remember?” 

“S-sure… but…” Louis’ voice had gone a little higher. “Y’know, you’re… like… not… _huge_ and… got big teeth and you didn’t exactly look like you were going to kill me. It was more… shock, really.”

Harry softly chuckled. “I just have to sing and it’ll be okay. It’s okay. He’s just waiting.”

Louis came to sit next to him, slowly sticking his feet in the water. The thing is that the serpent was literally a few inches away from Louis’ feet and Harry’s tail. He was so close that he could probably devour them whole if he wanted to. The serpent, though, was a creature of its word, it seemed. It waited ever so patiently despite how monstrous he looked, despite the look in his eyes. 

“Which do we sing?” Louis asked, his voice shaky. He handed Harry the piece of paper he’d been writing on earlier. Who knew this would come in handy?

“ _Beyond the Sea_ ,” Harry said. Louis nodded. They looked at each other and Louis began to strum, but stopped, his eyes darting to the serpent. “Lou,” Harry said. Louis looked frozen, staring at the creature and hummed quietly, nervously. “You don’t have to… play your guitar, you didn’t have to bring it. I just needed the words, don’t worry.”

“I want to play it. It’s fine, um… I just—I don’t know.”

“You want to make sure the serpent gets the best performance, don’t you?” Harry exclaimed, his voice full of joy. It made Louis look over at him with confusion. “ _Don’t you_?” He asked, nodding at him, his eyes saying something else along the lines of _play along_. The serpent made a sound that vibrated against the water and tickled their lower limbs.

“Right… sure. Yeah.” Louis nodded slowly. “Absolutely.”

“Then look at me. Right at me, Lou.” Harry told him, his voice gentler. “Just… always at me.”

He did. Harry gave him an encouraging nod and Louis started to pick and strum at the strings once more. Harry was happy he listened to the song quite a bit today. He could recognize the tune easily now. He bit his lip and stared down at the piece of paper in his hands, waiting for when he knew he should sing. When he did, it sounded fine to him. That is, it sounded fine in the sense that he was singing along with Louis’ playing. Harry peered up at him and could see the fear in Louis' eyes slowly disappear. It was replaced by a tiny, tiny smile forming on his face.

“That’s it,” Louis whispered encouragingly. Harry smiled at the praise and sang his favorite line ever. “ _My lover stands on golden sands and watches the ships that go sailing._ ” Louis’ smile was so, so, so contagious. Was it possible that Harry could smile even more? Maybe it was because Louis was visibly relaxing, too, and they were just looking at each other while one played and the other sang, not even realizing they forgot the serpent was right in front of them. 

Harry wasn’t sure when Louis started mouthing and whispering the words with him, but he was, and Harry wished Louis would sing louder. He hadn’t heard Louis sing since the day they met. Not properly, at least, and Harry found that he missed the sound. He lifted his hand up and motioned for him to sing louder, though the signal was more like Harry making a half-a-heart in the air and then jut his hand upward, but all in a quick, swift gesture that it seemed Louis didn’t notice. But he did notice that Harry had asked him to sing louder, so he did.

At some point towards the end of the song, tiny light caught the corner of Harry’s eye as he glanced down to look at the next couple of lines of the song. He looked up to see the left eye of the serpent glow a little bit, but it vaguely reminded him of the light he had chased inside of the charybdis. The serpent moved his head a little and Harry saw points of the eye shine a little more than others. His eyes widened and he peered down at the paper. _Keep singing, keep singing_ , he thought, but also kept thinking about the fact that it seemed like the next gem was _in the serpent’s eye_. 

Was it going to be a habit that all the gems were body parts?

Louis stopped strumming and Harry stopped singing. They looked at each other and looked back at the serpent, whose eyes stared blankly at them. Harry held a finger to his lips, silently telling Louis to keep quiet, before setting the piece of paper on the step behind him and sliding down into the water, He stared at the creature, who seemed to be hovering and… and asleep? Had the serpent actually fallen asleep? Harry smiled at this small accomplishment. It didn’t seem like such a bad round _this_ time.

With his compass out, Harry thought—a little desperately—to find his sea friends. The arrow stilled from spinning around lamely and pointed west once more. Harry shrugged and took it as where he had to go. The compass did seem pretty handy if it showed him what he wanted to find most. Harry thought he’d probably end up keeping the thing if he was allowed. 

He swam through this part of the Pacific and was greeted with a vibrant world yet again. It was no secret that the ocean world around Australia were absolutely beautiful and yet… and yet he was sure they were in danger as well. Harry wasn’t sure, of course, seeing as he didn’t live here. He’d only heard about it. He passed through a cloud of jellyfish as carefully as he could, but was sure his tail was stung twice. Luckily, merfolk were okay against those stings. They just hurt was all. He made his way through human planted shark bombs and greeted a few that avoided them as well. He wished humans didn't put these bombs to hurt undersea life. It was not very nice. Harry asked about a couple of friends of his, asked if they’d seen them, and they pointed each time, always keeping west.

Harry saw the six of them in the middle of a beautiful coral reef. The manatees were snoozing and the dolphins soared up into the surface and came back down again. The sharks swam forward and around, but always kept close. Harry exhaled with relief and led them all back the way he’d come.

According to Opal, they were not allowed to return until Harry had found them. It was a harmless part of the mission, really.

When they returned to the serpent, they saw the serpent had sunk below the surface of the water, but was in the same area, same position as before. Harry was thankful that it was still asleep. He swam up to its face and tried to keep quiet as he took out the sword. Carefully, Harry aimed it around the eye to sort of scoop it out, and Harry smiled with a delighted hum to see that the moment the sword touched the eye, the eye glowed so bright for a quick moment before dulling and revealing just the gem, floating in front of him and the creature nowhere in sight

This one was easier.  Harry stuffed both the sword and gem into his satchel. With a dimpled smile, feeling proud of this, Harry turned to pull himself up onto the yacht’s steps, but stopped.

He grabbed Louis’ ankle and heard a squawk, even from underwater. Harry poked his head up and Louis kicked at him.

“I hate you.” Louis told him, grinning down. The smile never left Harry’s face. He lifted himself up onto the lowest step with him. “So, did you do it?” He asked, reaching for Harry’s satchel, but Harry held it from him.

“Don’t be rude.” Harry told him with a great frown. Louis laughed and Harry showed him his newest prize. “Green this time.”

“They all different colors?” Louis questioned, taking it from his hand and studying it. Harry watched him looking at the gem closely, smiling ever so softly before handing it back to Harry. It was his turn to peer into the precious rock.

“I guess so.” _Like your eyes_ , but Harry didn’t say that. He didn't know, though, that the gem’s green shimmer was reflecting in his own eyes, more so than it did Louis' _mostly_ blue ones, and he didn’t know that Louis was quietly noticing that with the most fondest look. Louis was with him and they were on an incredible journey—as horrifying or tame as it may be—and they both, at the moment, were very content.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

Harry had groomed himself quickly. It was nighttime and he was tired. Louis was, too. He yawned and rubbed at his eyes and looked somehow so very small doing so. They had food—Harry with his leftover barnacles and Louis a sandwich—and then both ended up having a tiny bit of sea salt ice cream. Harry reminded Louis how much he _loved_ this ice cream and decided it was his favorite human food. Louis found that unsurprising since, _apparently_ , ice cream was most peoples’ favorite food.

When they were back to sleeping for the night in their own cabins, the bubble was surrounding the yacht once more and the sea animals—or as Louis dubbed, the ‘Voyage Crew’—swam alongside it, their energy making the boat speed off towards the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, Harry had a nightmare. It was as simple as that, really, but it was a whole lot more than just a nightmare.

His imagination seemed to run amok when he was asleep. Harry pictured his dad dying, he was sure, and he’d just witnessed it, and then he was going to die, and then he woke up, and it was so, so, so terrible. It was especially terrible since just seconds after jumping awake from shock, he had forgotten how his father died in the nightmare. Why did that happen? Why did he forget the details in his dreams and nightmares so easily like that?

But… but he wanted to cry.

His eyebrows furrowed sadly and he covered his mouth with his hands as if he could push the tears back. He had to. It was just a nightmare, after all. He didn’t know shit. It was some freak accident and that’s all and his dad was gone and it’s been a while and he should _really_ be over it at this point. Still, he could feel the heavy heat of his face as if a pull was going against his hands pushing, like something was trying to pull his face down, pull his tears down. Harry just _couldn’t_ cry. He’d gone this far without doing so. He was _fine_. Harry was having a good time. It was over, done. **_Done. Stop._**

He slumped back down on his bed and starred at the ceiling of his cabin. The fear and discomfort of the nightmare still ran through him and it made it difficult to fall back asleep. He turned to his side and closed his eyes, but was far too aware of his heart pounding. It seemed being aware of it actually made his heart pound even harder, faster, and Harry sighed angrily, burying his face into his pillow and lying on his stomach.

Harry twisted and turned and wished the physical comfort of the bed would rest his entire body, would rest his mind, but after an hour of not sleeping, he decided to get up. Where he was going to go, he didn’t know. He just thought it’d make better use of his time if he… went somewhere. Maybe he’ll go and catch a ride on Jackie or Evan and snooze on one of them… or maybe not. Harry felt bad for thinking it. He’d already asked so much from them.

He stepped out of his room and looked down the hall that led to Louis’ room. Harry pressed his lips together and walked over quietly. He didn't want to disturb Louis. He just. He didn’t know, really, but his feet were definitely taking him over to his room. Harry leaned against the doorway and peered into the room, seeing Louis snooze and look impossibly beautiful doing so. He wondered if Louis had been a siren in some other lifetime. It made some sense in his head, really. A siren in his other life but with the heart of a merman. Or, perhaps, Louis had simply been a beautiful merman. Harry smiled sadly. He shouldn’t think of Louis swimming with a tail and being _himself_ in his merperson environment. He shouldn’t because it just would… it would… never happen.

A light caught his eye. Louis’ phone lit up from where it sat on the nightstand. _Louis’ phone!_ Excitement washed over Harry and he looked at Louis. He was very asleep. It was… _too_ easy. Harry could snatch the phone and listen to the song. It was _perfect_. Then, Harry could put the phone back without Louis ever knowing he’d touched it.

It was practically foolproof.

Harry quietly stepped over the threshold to grab Louis’ phone and double checked to make sure he was asleep. He could laugh from how perfect this all was. He beamed and shrugged his shoulders up and down in some sort of alternative of mischievous laughter before walking back to the doorway and heading down the hallway back to his own cabin.

He sat down in the middle of his bed with his legs criss-crossed. Right. Louis’ phone. How did this contraption work again? The screen had gone back to black again and Harry let his thumb feel around the phone before pressing the circular button at the bottom. The phone lit up and Harry bounced happily in his bed. He swiped right and frowned at the passcode lock.

_No_. Louis had told him to tap those numbers in before.

Harry frowned and moved to grab his satchel. He rummaged through to find all of Louis’ letters. Flipping through them, he smiled, skimming through to find a piece of information but finding a bunch of others about Louis. Harry admired Louis so very much. It was nice to reread some of these, even if he was skimming through. He decided quickly that if he couldn’t fall asleep later again, he would read all of the letters until he did. Hopefully then, even, he wouldn’t have a nightmare since he read Louis’ letters. Louis’ letters only brought him joy.

He found it. 

> _P.S._
> 
> _My birthday is December 24. I’ll be turning 25 this year. I’m old oldy old. :(_

Harry giggled to himself and set the letter aside. He tapped in the numbers he now _definitely_ remembered Louis telling him to tap three months ago. 1, 2, 2, and 4. The phone was unlocked. Just like that.

Harry didn't know where to go. He read all of the little squares to himself and decided that the Music square sounded promising. He tapped it and stared at where the phone took him to. He didn’t understand _any_ of what he was seeing. Three smaller squares were under ‘recently added’ and then everything below went in a list of artists. Harry scrolled through, and it took him a while to realize they were all in alphabetical order. A delighted hum sounded from him as he scrolled faster, and a set of letters popped up on the right side.

Well, now what?

Harry touched the pink letters and they scrolled, too. So, if he scrolled to E would it take him to all of the musicians with E? It sounded like it was worth a shot, so Harry did, and was greeted with exactly that. He only had to scroll a little bit until Elton John’s name popped up. He tapped that and was brought to a screen with a large picture of the man and tinier squares underneath it.

It took Harry a while. It really did. He was sure his thumb tapped in many, many places, but it was finally that he saw those two words that were the song’s title that he hummed happily again before tapping on it. When the piano sounded from the tiny speakers, Harry’s smile was officially permanent on his face and he fell onto his back with his legs still crossed before he let them fall straight, then crossed them lazily.

It sounded beautiful already. But the words… oh the words. 

> _It’s a little bit funny, this feeling inside_  
>  _I’m not one of those who can easily hide_  
>  _Don’t have much money, but, boy if I did_  
>  _I’d buy a big house where we both could live._

Harry held the end of the phone to his ear and bit at his thumb nail, looking as curious as he felt. He loved it already and honestly thought that so far, it sounded incredibly too sweet. Elton John had to be in love.

> _If I was a sculptor, but then again no_  
>  _Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show_  
>  _I know it’s not much, but it’s the best I can do_  
>  _My gift is my song and this one’s for you_

Yes, he was in love. 

> _And you can tell everybody this is your song_  
>  _It may be quite simple, but, now that it’s done_  
>  _I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind_  
>  _That I put down in words_  
>  _how wonderful life is now you're in the world_

Harry gasped, his eyebrows furrowing at this… this… _incredible_ poetry. He covered his mouth, feeling the meaning of those words. This was _love_. Real, full love. The romantic type. The sort Harry could only ever dream about. It was in _music_ and Harry couldn’t believe how beautiful those words sounded, lacing in the air in different tones and notes.  

> _I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss_  
>  _Well a few of the verses, well, they've got me quite cross_  
>  _But the sun’s been kind while I wrote this song_  
>  _It’s people like you that keep it turned on_

Harry’s smile was about to break his face. He didn’t even know what moss was, but it didn't matter, because everything else he understood. This was so, so, so, so perfect. 

> _So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do_  
>  _You see I've forgotten if they're green or they’re blue_  
>  _Anyway the thing is what I really mean_  
>  _Yours are the sweetest eyes I’ve ever seen_

Harry sat up, his soft, full curls falling over his shoulders around him. He stared at the phone with his eyes wide, his hand still covering his mouth. How could this be real? How could… how could… 

How could this song know how Harry felt? How could this be about how he felt about _Louis?_ Louis’ eyes were a lovely shade of blue and green and it was too much sometimes. Turquoise might as well be a better name. The sea. His sea eyes. They were so real and Harry… Harry… 

This was the verse that made Harry decide to learn and sing this song. It was Louis’ favorite song. Harry could impress Louis with that and, well, it would be okay, because Harry had the excuse of just wanting to surprise Louis with his favorite song. There might not ever be a time he’d express his feelings. No, there would _never_ be a time, actually, because he was engaged, and this… this song was so very perfect. And he could hide it with just… just pointing out it was Louis’ favorite song and he wanted to do something for him, as simple as it was. Louis needn’t know a thing about how he felt.

Harry replayed the song again and again. The chorus was what he picked up first after the last verse. He sang quietly to himself and kept replaying and replaying and never got bored of it once. He sang and swayed and fell onto his side and his back and his side again with the phone in front of him, giggling and feeling such impossible happiness lifting all of his spirits up.

This might be Harry's favorite song, too.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

**L**

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

“How do humans dance?”

Louis’ head appeared from the fridge door to look at Harry. It was rainy today so they were in the salon. Apparently the bubble of water did _not_ block weather conditions. When Louis asked Harry more about the bubble of water surrounding them, Harry told him that it hid the vessel—the yacht—from sight from humans, kept it from getting ruined from going at an impossible speed it wasn’t meant to go at, even  _without_ the “eckletricity crap you’ve got going on and all those... whatever things that you know how to handle up on top deck.” It also kept the boat from sinking. “So you don’t have to, like, anchor… it… ever again. Should’ve told you that, huh?” 

They'd had a sarcastic exchange from that, mocking one another and then smiling in ways that had them quickly looking away from each other. Louis told Harry to fuck off and Harry called Louis a git. They smiled at each other... and they really should stop.

With Harry venturing out into the water every so often and hanging out in the salon with Louis, it was a pretty tame day, even with the rain. He was tapping his foot—a tiny habit Harry seemed to have picked up—when he voiced the question. Louis expected Harry had seen humans dance at some point. He expected even merfolk had their own way of dancing. It was just different with the two species. Louis sighed quietly to himself before actually answering him.

“I don’t know, with feet?” He knew he was being a little shit with that answer. He felt he and Harry had grown to be so comfortable that he could ease into being a sarcastic dick with him every now and then. It was harmless, too, after all, but as Louis scanned the fridge, he felt a tiny pinch at his waist and he let out a tiny yelp of surprise. Louis lightly slapped the hand that was on his waist. Harry _actually_ pinched him. He looked up at Harry with a smile as he stood next to him and opened the freezer. 

“Don’t be cheeky.” Harry jokingly scolded before shaking his head. He peered into the fridge for a moment before looking into the freezer again and made a sound that was something that sounded like a stifled smirk 

Right. Louis was looking for frozen breakfast foods. Stupid him. Even Harry picked up on the fact that frozen foods were in the fucking freezer. Louis slammed the fridge door shut and crossed his arms as he pressed his side into Harry’s, looking into the freezer with him. Zayn and his big, fancy power catamaran yacht with everything ever. Christ. 

“I’m serious…” Harry said before humming happily at the sight of sea salt ice cream. “All for me, all for me.” He muttered as he hugged the tub to himself and scurried off back to the couches of the salon. 

Louis looked over his shoulder to him and smirked, shaking his head lightly. “You think you’re small or something but you’re really not, y’know that?” Louis snatched a box of frozen french toast—because frozen french toast was actually a _thing_ —before he made tea with his tiny breakfast. “It depends on the dances, by the way, Haz.” Louis told him with a shrug. “There’s, like, not just one dance. I’m sure if you spent time in the kingdoms of the oceans we were passing through, you’d… notice some… merfolk dance differently depending on the music.”

This seemed logical to Louis, at least. Cultures had to vary in other oceans, too, just like in the human world. He turned to lean against the small kitchen’s singular counter to look at Harry. Hewas coming back over to him and Louis knew exactly what he needed. Without looking away from Harry, Louis pulled at the drawer behind him to retrieve a spoon and handed it to him. Harry paused for a moment before beaming. Louis took that as a thank you.

“No, not really. We don’t dance.” Harry said as he walked over to the tiny beautiful table and Louis fussed over his food and tea. “But… in general, I mean. I’ve… I’ve actually always wondered.”

Louis sighed. He actually found himself not exactly excited over this conversation. So far, Louis’ been up for anything when it came to helping Harry understand something or experience something. Dancing was… it just… wasn’t exactly his forte. He really, actually, didn’t dance. Tried to avoid it at all costs. Of course, now, he felt really, really bad because he could already see where this conversation was going. Harry wanted Louis to somehow teach him how to dance and honestly, Louis didn’t really know the first thing of where to start with that. He supposed he wasn’t excited about the conversation because he knew this would be the first time he'd disappoint Harry.

Oh, well. His streak had to run out at some point.

“It’s just feeling the beat and moving your body, Harry. It’s not…” He shrugged, putting his french toast on a plate and grabbing his mug in his other hand as he walked over to sit beside him. “It’s not my favorite thing, to be honest. I don’t… I try not to do it. Avoid it as much as I can, really. But…” Louis took a slow sip of his warm tea and peered up at Harry from the brim of his mug.

Harry just _had_ to look at him with those big, sad, green puppy eyes, didn't he? Fuck. He peered down at his ice cream and smiled sadly before he scooped up another spoonful into his mouth. “I see.” Harry said after he swallowed. “I mean, yeah. Yeah. Sounds easy enough.” He smiled at Louis and Louis wanted to call him out on it because it just didn’t reach his eyes. He didn’t call him out. He smiled right back and let the subject fade off.

He felt like shit. A merman who could shift into a human once he was dry asked about how humans dance. A merman, who, had stolen Louis’ shoes because he loved the idea of wearing nice things on _feet_ , which he didn’t have at the time and didn’t have for his whole life until a few months ago. A merman who _loved_ humans and everything they were about and loved how free they seemed when they just _ran_ … wanted to know how humans danced and Louis… Louis felt so terrible.

“So… Indian Ocean next, right?” Louis asked quickly. He should literally punch himself in the face later. Or let Harry punch him in the face. 

Harry grinned. It was real. _No_ , now Harry was going to shove it all away and pretend he never asked or something, move on to the next subject or whatever. Still, some part of him was selfishly relieved they were going to move on from the dancing thing. “Yes. Actually… we should probably be where we’ve gotta be in a couple of hours.”

Louis could only wonder what awaited them next. “If I have to watch you get eaten again,” he muttered before he started eating a bite of his french toast.

“I know, I know. You’ll kill me.” Louis could hear the smile in Harry’s voice. It made him smile. Somehow, Harry was just alway able to make him do that, even when he felt like shit for not being enthusiastic about dancing. He liked that Harry could do that, liked that they could sit here and eat and talk here and there but be in comfortable silence. 

Honestly, he just liked Harry, and Louis was sure it was getting worse and worse every day.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

**Z**

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

Zayn would do anything for his family even if he didn’t support the entire fishing thing they did. He really would. That was why when his parents asked if he 'could _please_ just this _once_ help them out today,' Zayn agreed to it. It took a while because he reminded them that he didn’t want any part of the business, but his parents sounded like they really needed his assistance. So, who was he to say no to them, really?

That was why he found himself sighing on his parents' trawler boat. He worked to pull the net back up from underwater, a machine rolling up the net's longer strings slowly. His parents’ fishing boat was huge and enough for exactly what they needed, equipped to drag huge nets to capture schools of fish and the like as it dragged behind the boat. At the moment, the net was filled with fish and that was that, really. It was just what they did. Zayn wanted to apologize to every fish. After all, he hated to see the fish struggle.

It was when the fish started to break the surface that Zayn sighed again and lowered his gaze from them. He could hear them hopping hopelessly now that they were exposed to air and _that_ was what Zayn hated. They looked so helpless and Zayn knew they were all doomed from it once the net was carried back over onto the boat. It wasn’t fair. He felt like a damn hypocrite, too, on top of it all.

He was about to turn and walk off when he heard _something_. He didn’t know what it was, but Zayn turned his head towards the sound behind him. Frowning, he spun completely and braced himself against the edge of the boat, peering down at the net of fishes as it lifted up and up and up slowly, but surely.

It was so strange, like a watery, mystical echo, like taps of water laced with metaphorical silver filled the air... that is, if silver _had_ a sound. What was _that_? As Zayn looked around, _everywhere_ , he didn’t see anything that could possibly be the source of that strange sound. So, he turned around and walked off for real as he waited for the net to sit itself onto the boat.

When it did, Zayn could hear the sound even louder now that whatever it came from was on the boat. It _had_ to be from what they’d just caught. He had never heard anything like that in his life. Zayn left the chain-like pulley machine to inspect all around the trawl net of fishes that looked exactly the same as each other, but stopped at a certain purple, scaly fish tail. The tail was _huge_ and gorgeous, frilly at the bottom in a way that reminded Zayn of a betta fish.

It twitched and swished with discomfort. Zayn frowned, eyeing it as some fish jumped up around it. The tail _seemed_ to go on forever. He guessed the front of the fish was most likely the other side, too. So, Zayn walked around the net again, only to hear the sound growing even louder and choppier as he got to the other side. His eyes narrowed and he crouched to balance on the balls of his feet, watching to see if something different caught his eye.

Zayn didn’t know how long he stared into the pile of fish, but something happened that he didn’t expect at all. A _hand_ stuck out from the many, many fish and gripped at the net. Zayn’s eyes widened. _A hand?_ A _human_ hand? How was that _possible?_ How could they have honestly caught a human?! “Hey, man!” Zayn said, his eyes searching for more of the person. “How’d—look, we’re gonna get you out…” But honestly, what the _fuck_?

He saw a torso shoving and pushing through fish enough to be seen. The strange sound stopped and Zayn had never been more nervous and confused in his life. Surprise took over him when the air around him was pierced with a terrified and desperate plea. “Let me out! _Please_!” The person cried before he came forward. _Really_ came forward, as in he might as well have been shoved right up against the net. 

The man was breathing hard, his chest heaving with every inhale and exhale. His brown eyes were frightened and pleading and he shook from fear. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, but what Zayn saw had him standing up slowly, staring down in disbelief. From the man’s waist, he saw purple scales blending into his skin before just outright becoming a _tail_ , like a _fish’s_ tail. The tail he saw on the other side of the trawl net. Zayn looked away, then looked back and rubbed at his eyes. He must be seeing things, he must—

Were those gill slits on his side?

Zayn crouched down again and stared at the… the… _whatever_ it was. He could feel his heart thudding against his chest and he shakily raised his hand to hold it in front of the man’s that gripped the net. The man’s terrified gaze looked from Zayn’s eyes to his offered hand and then back into his eyes. Zayn saw the tiniest nod before the man splayed his hand out against the holes of the net. 

“I’ll help you get out, I’m sorry this happened.” Zayn said as he let his palm slide against the man’s.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.” He whispered, his voice nervous and grateful. If the situation wasn’t so bizarre, Zayn would probably be able to think clearly. He would also probably take a moment to appreciate that this guy was actually ridiculously attractive, but all he knew was that this man, like all the fish, was struggling. Zayn couldn’t see this anymore, couldn’t let it happen anymore.

“Just remember to swim down.”

He got up and started walking towards the machine, but then paused in his steps. Zayn hurried back to the pile of trapped fish and looked down at the one fish who impossibly seemed… to be… half _human_.

“What’s your name?” Zayn asked.

It was a while before the man spoke again. He still look frightened. Zayn was patient and didn’t move. Instead, he gave the fish-man a warm smile of reassurance. It was funny to be able to seem so calm on the outside when Zayn’s mind and body seemed to be screaming, _what the fuck, what the fuck, what the_ ** _fuck?_**

"Liam."

When the fish-man spoke, Zayn could only repeat the name in his head as he rushed to somehow say something that made his parents head inside of the boat. He quickly dragged boxes in front of the door so they couldn't get out, either. He played the name of the fish-man in his head over and over, noticed how lovely his voice was and hoped he’d get the chance to introduce himself. He wanted to reduce that fear as much as possible. He wanted to understand what he was seeing so he didn’t think he was going insane. But he played it in his head like a catchy song as he did what he promised, played the name in his head as his parents asked what he was doing from behind that door, as the net was lifted up and over the water. Zayn let it lower carefully, but the net was also moving from inside. The fish-man was actually telling the large school of fish to swim down.

He played his name in his head as if it was the hallelujah chorus when the net seemed to start to get too heavy and broke off from the beam of the machine in the air. Zayn rushed to the side of the boat to see the net fall and the fish swim away freely. 

It echoed in his head when Zayn saw that Liam was a merman. A real, live merman. Zayn saw Liam’s face from underwater staring up at him before he poked half of his head out, staring tentatively at Zayn. He ignored the infuriated shouts from his parents, as if they knew exactly what he had just done.

“Your name?” Liam asked.

“Zayn.” Liam had the prettiest brown eyes and looked so strong and capable. Liam had struggled, and Zayn was relieved that he was okay now… as weird as it was. He gave Liam another friendly smile. “Be safe, Liam. I’m sorry about this.” He silently vowed he was  _really_ done with this now. To hell with his parents asking for help. This stuff was fucked up to do in his opinion, and Liam was another reason to stop this entirely.

Liam didn’t say anything back. He dove back under water and Zayn gasped at the tail that rose up, then disappeared back under. It _was_ Liam’s tail, wide and iridescent and shimmering. Zayn carefully leaned a little more towards the water, seeing the tiniest glow as Liam swam off with incredible speed until he was out of his sight.

He supposed he should let his parents out now...

It was an hour later on the way back to the marina that Zayn heard a knock against the boat. He hurried over towards the sound and looked down into the water, seeing Liam the merman knocking against it. Why had he returned? Not that Zayn wasn’t a little ecstatic about it, of course, but he didn’t understand why he would. His eyes trailed to see the deep purple underneath the blue water swishing lightly. Disney didn’t do merpeople’s tails justice, honestly. They had nothing on what Zayn was seeing. 

He rested his forearms against the side of the boat, smiling. “Hello, Liam.”

“Zayn.” Liam said, swallowing thickly. He seemed nervous, so Zayn remained quiet and patient just like before. “Why did you help me? Help _them_? Weren’t you the one who captured us in the first place?”

Zayn sighed and raked a hand through the back of his hair. “I don’t like doing this. This stuff. And I did because… because you were scared. That’s all.” He smiled sadly and Liam nodded. They were quiet for a while and Liam looked pensive. “Why’ve you come back to see me?” Zayn asked, his eyebrows furrowing. “And you… are you _really_ … a… like, I’m not _imagining_ it, right? You’re a real… merman, right?”

Liam’s tail stuck out of the water behind him and he nodded. “I am. You’re not seeing things.” Liam told him with the smallest smile. “I just—people that help merfolk get a wish. And… and if you genuinely don’t like this sort of thing and… and you _did_ help me…”

Zayn’s eyes bulged out of their sockets. “I-you’re joking.” Liam shook his head. “Honestly? I’m fine, though. I don’t… no, I don’t… need anything, really. Keep it for another time.”

“Another _time_?” Liam asked, raising an eyebrow.

“If I ever see you again and I need a wish, I’ll have one saved up, right?” Zayn asked. His heart melted at the shy smile on Liam’s face. He nodded happily and Zayn gave him a thumbs up. Liam seemed to move, reaching under him before raising his hand up towards Zayn. It looked like Liam was holding something. Zayn leaned forward to take whatever it was. “Erm, Liam?” Zayn asked. “Is this your scale?”

“It’s what you have to wish on.” Liam told him matter-of-factly. “So you can use it whenever you want. Whenever you’re ready to. And remember; wishing scales are not transferrable.” That was funny. Zayn chuckled softly. 

“It’s settled then. Just… be careful, y’know, like, we're not the only fishing boat around. Should be careful.”

Liam huffed. “It’s not my fault. You weren’t supposed to be able to see me, get to me. We’re exposed now. It’s not as simple as it was.” His eyes widened, looking horrified. “I’ve said too much, oh, _no_.” Before Zayn could stop him, Liam was back underwater and hurrying away. Zayn still called out for him to wait, wanting to know what he meant, wanting to know if there was some way he could help, but Liam was gone once again. He was sure this time, Liam wouldn’t come back, either.

What exactly did Liam _mean_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was just so, so long. I hope you don't mind I've broken it up. The second should come _very_ soon. If not tomorrow, then the day after so you guys can be happy and read and I'll get started on the last chapter which will not end on a happy note, but the next installment 100% will. I know people worry about unhappy endings and it's only, only, only this one, I do promise!
> 
> Please leave lovely comments and kudos if it please you, they make my absolute day, I literally smile so much and am so thankful someone likes this enough to comment and like it. They keep me motivated, as if the actual story doesn't keep me motivated enough!
> 
> I hope you guys are having a nice day and yeah, chapter four/part 2 of this chapter should be posted soon enough!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fastest Cruise Around the World™, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you I'd be able to post part 2 soon! This chapter killed _me_ , and especially knowing what lies ahead, I'm amazed I had the audacity to write this.
> 
> Also like I might've mentioned, I do tend to snatch a bit of everything from books and movies that've inspired me, so if you definitely recognize something, it's probably from that! I'm not an original person.
> 
> I did add a couple of new tags at the end of all the tags in this installment so if you guys need to look at what is definitely included in here, I suggest you do so before reading further in case any of it is something that'll cause you any bit of discomfort seeing as that's definitely not what I ever want to cause. There is... [spoiler alert?] a mistaken death that happens for literally a moment, but **this chapter ends on a happy note.** I promise.
> 
> Thank you so much so far, once again, and I really hope you like this chapter 4/part 2 of chapter 3 since there was originally supposed to be 4 chapters. I hope you guys have a nice day!
> 
> **Bonus:** Here is a [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/v4leeeee/playlist/4XeU7sCBEfWgGR9dmBzk21) of all the songs that've been mentioned in the series so far and I'll be adding to it as more songs pop up in the future last chapter and other following sequels.

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**H**

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The kraken was so far the worst. Well, in terms of the _boat_ it was. Its tentacles had slowly crept up on all the sides and rocked it back and forth every so often. 

Harry had been learning about the comic man on Louis’ _Vans_. Louis was very enthusiastic about it, too, and Harry looked at him with the brightest eyes he’d ever held for him. He yapped and yapped about spiderman nonstop. He told Harry that he’d once dressed up as spiderman for something called Halloween, and that was an entirely new conversation for the both of them. Harry suggested Louis dress up as a merman for next Halloween and it had Louis throwing his head back with warm laughter.

His laughter died out quickly and Louis stood up on the couch they were on, staring at the window. “Um, Haz?” Louis asked, swallowing with a gulp. Harry frowned and turned around to face where Louis was facing and saw the windows covered up by impossibly large, wavy arms with rows of suction cups on their undersides.

“A _kraken_?!” They both groaned in unison. Luckily, Harry had his satchel on the floor, so he grabbed that and headed outside to the cockpit. The rain was still pouring and that certainly irked Harry a little. When he did step outside, Harry’s eyes slowly rose to look all around. The kraken's arms were intimidating, swaying and creeping up on every side of the yacht… which meant… that the beast was literally under the yacht. “Uh oh.”

“ _Uh oh?!_ ” Louis hissed with a whisper, coming from behind him. “Do you see—fuck…” he looked around, too, standing beside Harry. “Where’s the Voyage Cr- _aahhh!_ ” They grabbed on to whatever they were able to—which were the backs of the sofas—as the tops of the arms hooked around the yacht and shook it violently before stopping. The arms didn't pull down into the water, but they stayed right where they were, with a promise that it could do much worse.

“What if the beastie ate them?” Harry asked as he carefully made his way to one of the stairs on the back. He had to go. He had to drive the thing away. What was it with these creatures being able to  _touch_ the boat when it had a protective charm around it?

Louis laughed hysterically as he followed him, but it blended into a small, complaining sound. “Don’t _joke_ about something like that!”

“You seem awfully calm, Louis.” Harry quickly observed as he gripped at the railings and jumped in between a pair of the kraken's large arms, only to dive right into the water. He heard Louis say something, though it was muffled, so he quickly poked his head out again. “What was that? Sorry, I didn’t catch it.”

“I’m not as calm as you think.” Louis said, sighing heavily and shakily as he looked around nervously. “I mean… this boat is literally surrounded by the arms of the biggest cephalopod ever.”

“Holy fucking cephalopod.” Harry muttered, because this seemed about the most appropriate time to say something like that. 

Louis let out another nervous laugh that was between a mix of hysteria and sadness. He calmed down quickly, or at least visibly, and Harry stayed where he was. He had to make sure Louis was okay before he figured out how to deal with _this_ monster. Harry watched him look around and breathe in and out in slow, deep breaths before looking right at him. 

“I trust you.” Louis spoke simply, like it was mere fact. He even looked passably nonchalant about it, too. “I mean… as horrifying as it actually is… and it _is_ …” he looked around and grimaced at a particularly sticky arm that made some gross sound. “I, yeah. I trust you. After a whirlpool monster and a sea serpent, I think I’m… I’m going to be just fine.” He nodded surely and smiled right at Harry. “It’s fine. As long as I don’t see you get eaten by this guy, it’s okay.”

“Lou…” Harry whispered, but he didn’t have time. He gave Louis a thumbs up before he dove into the water and saw the head of the kraken upside down, large and just about everywhere around him. A gravelly voice rocked the waters around them and Harry had to cover his ears. The piercing voice repeated the same two words over and over again and Harry tried to concentrate on what was surrounding him. The kraken's arms that were creeping up alongside the yacht lowered back into the water with a violent splash, making the yacht above it lightly rise up and down. From behind the kraken, Harry could see the Voyage Crew making its way back to the boat. “Go, yes.” Harry voiced, echoing so it could reach them easily. If they were here, that meant Louis was able to get far away again if things got bad.

" _Which one, which one?_ "

Those were the two words Harry kept hearing and he had no idea what that meant. He swam around as to try to get away from the many arms of the kraken, but that was the thing. There were too _many_ and they were huge and long. Harry found himself being tugged from one that wrapped around his middle and was flung in some random direction, his body spinning madly and dizzying in a way that he couldn’t control himself until the strong force of the kraken’s fling slowed down.

Unfortunately, Harry was very unsteady from it and started sinking lower. This was actually going to hurt him. He groaned, grabbing at his head and shut his eyes tightly before he smacked at his face, trying to straighten himself up and see evenly again, his senses on high alert. How was he supposed to even figure anything out if this thing was going to attack him from every angle?! His eyes widened when he saw a pair of arms shooting at him and Harry didn’t waste time in speeding out of their reach. 

An arm was coming at him from one side and another came from a different side when he thought he was safe. It lasted a second. Harry looked at both arms frantically before shooting up towards the surface with his arms out in front of him, but he spun right back down, letting the arms chase him around and around. His eyes scanned around him; left, right, up, and down, trying to keep alert as he maneuvered around different arms that came at him from everywhere.

Harry was definitely not trying to be spun around into dizziness again. There was just too much going on at once and it was starting to get harder to dodge every arm. His heart raced as he swam under and over and did loop-de-loops to get away from every smack and curl of the suctioning arms. Just thinking about them almost made him want to gag. 

_"Which one? Which one? WHICH ONE?"_

Which one?

Harry had managed to swim in way to confuse the kraken. Somehow, a couple of its arms got caught in a large knot from chasing Harry. That gave Harry an idea and he laughed softly, hinting mischief. The eyes of the kraken glared at him, seeming to pick up on his change in mood. Another couple of arms shot at Harry and he moved easily and away. Instead of going against both, he kicked towards one of them, his caudal fin flipping against the water rapidly as he swam with speed, determined to get this right.

Before both arms met him in the middle, Harry lifted up a tad higher and continued swimming forward so one of them was directly behind him. He dove under the second one to curl under and come up over. Naturally, the kraken was more concerned with grabbing Harry than realizing he was on his way to being tangled. Harry hurried to swim close to the end of the second arm before curling under that one and coming through a loop, shooting straight up and turning to look down.

Harry had managed to tie two pairs of arms into knots.

He did the same to the other four arms before coming together and lacing the four pairs into one colossal knot underneath the kraken’s head. Harry could vaguely see its teeth both underneath its head and over the bunches of its own body. The kraken roared in frustration. So much for octopi and squids being dubbed silent hunters. That was certainly a surprise. 

_"WHICH ONE, WHICH ONE?"_

Oh.

Well, that seemed to be a job for his compass, didn’t it? Harry understood how this worked. Either he had to outsmart them, please them, or venture into the most dangerous parts of them to retrieve the gem. This was a matter of outsmarting them. Now, he was free to find out where it was in the kraken’s body. 

It was actually _kind of funny_ to see the kraken submerged in the water in front of him, looking so pathetic and helpless, simply tangled within itself. Harry’d done a pretty fine job with that, if he did say so himself. He lifted his head up proudly as he took the compass out from his satchel before peering down at it. As always, the arrow spun around uselessly on its own before stopping and pointing at the kraken itself. “Hmm.” Harry peered up at the kraken and inched closer, his tail swishing behind him lazily as he followed where the arrow pointed exactly.

As he drew closer, the arrow pointed more and more specifically to one arm that was undoubtedly in the mix of the huge knot. Harry could see something glowing against the layered arms, but in one specific area; where the arrow pointed. He sighed and stuffed the compass into his satchel to take out his sword. " _Which one, which one?"_ Harry met the kraken’s eyes. They didn’t look so flamed with anger anymore, but more sagely and patient. This might be a job for two swords. He _had_ two swords. Harry quickly grabbed the other, holding both at their hilts. The creature was perfectly still as Harry lifted the swords, using them both to carefully stick them through the knot, careful not to stab through flesh—as hard as it was—and helped to untie it slowly. He swam this way and that, helped to pull at arms so they could uncurl and be free, but the kraken didn’t attack him anymore.

What was revealed was one of the suctioning parts on the underside of one of the arms holding a gem. Harry reached forward to grab it, but it wouldn’t budge, so he instead used the edges of the tip of his swords to carefully slide it between the gem and the suction cup on opposite sides. He gave them a quick upward push so the gem popped out, and Harry caught it in his hand.

When the gem—a yellow one this time—began to glow brighter and brighter to the point that Harry had to close his eyes, the kraken had disappeared entirely. Harry only opened his eyes again when he could tell the light against them dimmed to something much more tolerable. _Three down_ , he thought. Even if he hadn’t died yet, he could’ve just from one mistake. He was thankful he didn’t and hoped he wouldn’t. So far, everything seemed perfectly fine. Maybe at the end of this all, it wouldn't be so bad. Everything might actually fall into place.

Maybe, just maybe.

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**L**

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Louis couldn’t believe the conversation he just had with Zayn.

It seemed Zayn had been made to go on the fishing boat with his parents—which, first of all, bless them for doing everything on their own. Louis knew that struggle—and had come across the most unbelievable thing in the world. Zayn had almost _hung up_ because he was positive Louis would think him insane. Louis had a good laugh with that one. After everything he’d seen… anything could definitely sound perfectly normal. 

Zayn sent Louis a photo of a scale. It was purple with hints of red speckles that shimmered in a way that Louis was all too familiar with. With Zayn’s text after that, which read “ _i was given this._ ”, Louis could only stare at the screen of his phone with wide eyes. Then, Zayn texted once more to ask where Louis had gone since he didn’t answer back. This couldn't be something to deal with over text, so Louis called him.

“Who gave that to you?” Louis asked. He heard Zayn sigh and sound uncertain. “C’mon, mate, honestly. Who gave that to you? Spit it out. We live together, known each other for years.” 

“Louis… I—fuck. Honestly… it’s going to sound… I’m going to sound absolutely mad but… fuck it, I'm hanging up—"

" _Zayn._ "

He blurted it out in one quick sentence that made the words sound jumbled together as one. "It was a merman named Liam.”

Louis knit his eyebrows together. It was just as he’d expected, but he was sure he’d heard Harry had a friend named Liam. Liam seemed like a common name, anyway, but… _was_ there a chance that it was the same Liam? “What did he say?” Louis asked.

Zayn immediately scoffed in disbelief. “I expected a ‘You’re mad, Zayn, go to the doctor and—'“

“What’d he say?”

Zayn sighed. “I mean, I helped him, like, get back in the water. Helped the other fish, too, but yeah… I guess helping him meant I get a scale that’s _supposed_ to grant me a wish? Sounds ridiculous, don’t it?” Louis wished it did. It should, but it really didn’t.

“No, Zayn. You’ve… no idea how normal you actually sound to me.” Louis sighed. “So that’s it? Your parents give you shit for that?”

“He said something about him—or the merpeople I don’t know what—being exposed and that’s why we actually, like, ended up actually… _catching_ him. Like, we caught him in the net, Louis.” Zayn groaned. "They were upset, but, what can you do?"

Louis’ heart skipped a beat, ignoring the second part entirely. “ _What_?”

“Yeah, I was surprised they didn't get even angrier and punish me or something—even though they can't because I'm twe—"

Louis whined. "No, Zayn. The other thing."

"Oh. Right. I don't know what he, like, meant, y’know. He kind of got freaked that he even said it at all and then vanished.”

He looked out from where he sat in the salon to the sliding door at the sound of Harry coming inside. “That’s weird. I’ll call you back, yeah? We’re gonna talk more about this. I’ve got to head off.”

“Alright, I’ll talk to you later, then. Bye. Say hi to your friend.”

“Will do. Bye.” Louis hung up and looked up as Harry loomed over him and took the newest reward out of his satchel. This time, the gem was bright yellow. He had a proud smile on his face. Louis wished he could return it, but what Zayn said meant the worst. It meant that Harry _really_ had to hurry now, more than ever.

Harry’s face fell. He lowered his precious rock and set it back into the satchel before looking down at Louis with the most worried expression. “What’s the matter? What’s happened?” He asked, sitting down carefully next to Louis. Louis licked his top lip and shifted so he was more angled to face him. Harry placed a comforting hand on his upper arm and that just made Louis sigh. He should just say it. He was worrying Harry for no reason when Harry had, well, something _new_ to worry about.

“My friend, Zayn?” Harry nodded, his eyes full of devotion to just listening to Louis. For a moment, Louis took that in. Harry actually thought something was upsetting Louis personally and it touched him, the way that Harry looked at him. He could think about Harry’s caring ways later. Right now, Louis had to tell him what happened. “He says hi, by the way, before I tell you... the real thing. Erm... his parents had him go on their fishing boat. The ones with the big nets that are lowered and then raised by like… these pulley machines, sort of. Anyway. So… so they caught a merman.” He paused, watching Harry blink and his eyes widen softly with surprise. A second later, Louis saw the realization settle in his eyes, joined by fear, disbelief, and nervousness all at once. The hand on his arm slid off and Harry faced forward, not looking at Louis. “Zayn said his name’s Liam. He… he took a picture of… his purple scale because… because Zayn let him go back in the water. Along with the rest of the fish they caught. Purple with… red speckles. Sparkles. I don’t know. He sent me a photo of it and everything and thought _he_ sounded _mad_ and honestly…”

Harry swallowed, tearing his gaze away from Louis’ and breathing in and out deeply, slowly. “Well… we’re moving already for the Southern. Should be there in some hours but if we have to circle the outskirts of Antarctica then it’ll be another few more. Then we’ll be going ‘round the Caribbean and then we’ll… and then I’ve got to do one more thing and you don’t have to join me if you don't want to, but… it’s just a final thing to unleash my powers and it’ll be okay and then, and then…” Harry was speaking so fast that Louis could hear and feel every bit of apprehensiveness in his voice, could see it in his face, in his hands with one set of fingers tugging on the other’s pinky. “And then the merfolk world will be hidden and all will be right again in the Atlantic. It’ll be okay.”

He sounded like he was more or less trying to convince _himself_ than he was Louis. His eyes were wide and he sucked in a huge breath. Louis’ eyebrows creased and he chewed on his bottom lip tentatively. “Haz—“ he whispered, reaching out to him. “Look at me, will you? It’s going to be fine, we’ve just got to get you through this as fast as possible.” It was one of those moments when a person just didn’t know exactly what to say, but they were trying. It was one of those moments when a person wanted to hug the other or at least put some comforting hand on them and reassure them it’d be okay and hope that some part of them believed that first person. Harry didn’t do anything as Louis carefully rested his hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. “Yeah? And we’re already off, like you said. So… do you want to, like, talk or… I don’t know.”

“My father didn’t waste time with this. He didn’t let the kingdom…” Louis blinked, and the transition between those blinks had Louis looking at Harry almost like he was studying him. “I’m gonna… gonna just head to my room. See how it’s looking in the kingdom… that stuff. Think of what could possibly await me next so I can just get through it even faster.”

It was evident that Harry was upset. Louis could understand that, sure. What he didn’t understand was _this_. Harry was physically leaving his side when he was upset and going to _check_ on the kingdom and think up of strategies for a _something_ he didn’t even know. It didn’t add up to Louis, see, because Louis would never forget Harry’s letters. Those weekly letters were a lifeline for their friendship during those three months. Harry had trusted Louis enough to pour his emotions out about his father and Louis remembered that Harry wrote something that was about him actually voicing everything he was writing _as if_ he was talking right to him.

Harry stood up and Louis stared at his retreating back heading down to the lower cabins. Louis fought with himself for a while before he got up himself and followed him. “Harry.” Louis spoke. Harry didn’t turn, didn’t stop walking, and really, Louis wasn’t going to have _that_. He frowned and sprinted over when Harry entered his cabin. “Hey!” Louis snapped, grabbing at the door to open it. “What’s the _matter_? Why’re you mad at _me_?! I just told you what I was told!” Harry didn’t answer but sat on his bed with his legs hanging over the edge and grabbed the mirror from his satchel. “What’ve I done? What did I say that you’re suddenly—it’s kind of out of nowhere, actually.”

With a sharp breath, Harry glanced up at Louis before looking down far too quickly. His eyes didn’t look _angry_ per se, but they weren’t happy, and were screaming something that Louis couldn’t read. If Harry would just…

“Can you look at me? Please? Talk to me, what’s on your mind?” Louis asked, his voice a little gentler, but still insistent. Still, Harry said nothing and Louis crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes glanced to an image in the mirror. He stepped closer to stand in front of Harry and looked down at it. Was that the… what was that? It was the ocean. This was the ocean… but… that looked like _coral_ and _sponge,_ as if it were architecture. Could this be the main palace? 

There was something else, too. Merfolk were swimming in panic and mermen who resembled guards. They had spears and a blond merman with blue eyes was shrieking something in his oceanic language. Louis had no idea what the merman was saying, but by his expression, he looked scared and distressed.

Harry’s lips were parted in quiet shock and he shook his head before shoving the mirror back into the bag angrily. It was chaos down there. It was chaos and even with as fast as this was going, they still had a lot to do before Harry was able to gather his own full powers to protect the kingdom. It was obvious that it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. Harry covered his mouth and nose with his hands and Louis wanted to hug him so bad, wanted to try to understand everything in his head. One thing was for certain: Harry had  _every_ right to feel saddened and stressed. Louis just wished he wasn't.

What Louis saw had set red flags going up in his mind. Harry dragged his hands down and he exhaled out through his mouth—and it was shaky. His hand flew to his mouth and he stared down at his lap, looking like he was concentrating so hard.

“You didn’t mourn, did you?” Louis asked, not accusingly, but more stating it as the realization settled in. With what Harry said about his father not wasting time and not letting the kingdom lose its invisibility, this was exactly what he needed to put two and two together. Louis bent his legs carefully to try to see Harry’s face, only to see Harry squeezing his eyes shut. He looked very much like he was trying so, so, so hard _not_ to explode into tears right now and Louis didn’t want him to try. “Alright, enough.” Louis whispered, sitting on the bed next to him and wrapping his arms around him. Harry tried to push against him, but Louis wouldn’t let him. “Alright, in for the long embrace. You need it, it’s fine.”

“ _Louis_.” Harry growled, his voice actually going an octave lower. Louis raised his eyebrows at his friend’s voice. If Harry wasn’t so evidently stressed and saddened, he’d find that attractive, but now it was just surprising. 

“ _Harry_.” Louis said, trying to deepen his voice a little, too, and growl like he did. It was a bit of a pathetic attempt and Harry sobbed out a laugh. He looked up at Louis and shook his head. This was his last protest. “Come on, you, it’s all right." Louis made sure his eyes never left Harry's, that his thumb lightly brushed his back. "Have a good cry, it’s long overdue." Harry swallowed. Louis could see his face fighting it, but it was slowly not putting in the effort to. Harry was giving into that need, that pull that people couldn't control sometimes. There came a time. There _always_ came a time. "You’re doing your fucking best, what can I say?” Louis' voice was as soft as a feather as he spoke those words and that seemed to have done it.

Harry’s forehead dropped to Louis’ shoulder and his arms crushed Louis in a warm embrace. It was silent, but he could feel the tears spilling on the fabric of his shirt. A shaky, ragged breath sounded from him and he started to really sob. Louis rubbed his back and hooked his chin over his shoulder. He could sympathize, after all, and with all the added stress of his responsibilities? Louis couldn’t possibly imagine it all, but could guess it was just all too much for him to handle on his own like that.

“Oh, no,” Harry sniffled, pulling his head up. Louis pulled back a little to look at him. He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry, too, because Harry was staring horrified at Louis’ shoulder. His arms came around from him and Harry touched his fingers under his eyes before jumping a little. “Now _I’m_ leaking.” A shaky hand went to his mouth, his tongue just barely touching his thumb. Harry softly sobbed and laughed, looking up at Louis in confusion. “L-leaking salt water. I’m falling ap-part like y-you did.”

Louis couldn’t handle Harry sometimes. He could, of course, it was just that some parts of him were so overwhelmingly tooth-rottingly sweet. It was Louis’ turn to take his face in his hands and wipe those tears away. “Tears, Harry, remember?” Harry nodded subtly as Louis cradled his face in his hands and thumbed at the skin under his eyes, wiping the small, clear drops away. “Your body makes them when you cry.Like when I cried. A little, sure, but I still did. It’s all the same.”

He never wanted to see Harry cry again. It was destroying Louis to see him like this. Harry sniffled once more and his eyes squeezed shut as another round of tears poured out. Louis took this time to whisper encouraging things to him, letting them tumble out of his mouth as they came, just positive things that mingled with the tears on his face. It was good, too, because Harry sometimes smiled at a few of the things he said and nodded with gentle hums, but he also leaned into Louis’ touch like he was tired.

“You’re stronger than you think, you know that?” Louis spoke, giving him a small smile. Harry was calming down a little from his much needed cry. He gave Louis an affirmative nod, which made Louis chuckle. “If you want to sleep, that’s okay, too. You’ve had a busy… few days. And, honestly, you look exhausted now, so.”

“S’a good idea…” Harry smiled sleepily as he leaned against Louis’ left palm. He closed his eyes gently before sniffling. “Think I will.”

“Need something to wipe your face?”

“Maybe. Sorry ‘bout your shirt… sorry… about… this, really.”

Louis frowned. “Don’t be. Ever. You’ve been forcing yourself to keep stronger than you had to, it’s fine. Please don’t apologize.” A soft laugh mixed with his last sentence. Louis was quietly patting himself on the back for restraining himself from kissing Harry’s forehead. “Do you, like, want tea? I mean.” Louis rolled his eyes at himself and Harry laughed sadly. “Erm… salt water?”

“I can try tea.” Harry shrugged, rubbing at his face. “If anyone saw me now, honestly...”

“ _Honestly_ , kings cry, too.” Louis told him quickly, giving him a stern look. “You may be a merman but I’m pretty sure that means you’re half human. And humans… feel things, y’know. It’s okay to have a good cry sometimes. Y’know, if I leave this room right now andyou go on and cry, that’s fine. Literally no one’s going to care. Would you honestly rather seem like an emotionless person who didn’t care about their father?” Harry opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it, frowning. “You can be strong _and_  have those emotional moments. It’ll ease your mind some, I think. Y’know with… with it not bottled up so much and all anymore—or as much as it was—I feel like maybe it’s like… a big….”

“Relief.” Harry spoke when Louis didn’t.

“Told you you were better at the whole _words_ thing than I was. Which is stupid because everyone knows that word, but… yeah. Yeah.You get what I mean.” He gave Harry a smile and Harry looked at him in a way that made Louis feel stupid. “What’d I do now?” He asked as he got up to grab some tissue paper for him. 

Harry scoffed as Louis sat back down when he came back quickly. “Are you kidding me?” Louis shrugged and handed him the tissue paper. Harry wiped at his face. “You actually made me cry.”

“Okay, I sound like an arsehole now.”

“Coaxed it out of me with everything you just said. Really, you think you’re terrible with words? That’s such a lie.” Louis lowered his head as he smiled and quickly composed himself. “Thank you for… I don’t know what you did, but… I actually needed it.” Louissmiled modestly and shrugged in a way that made him seem smaller. “I’m serious, I kind of needed it. Someone to actually… call me out on it, I guess.”

It sounded so funny to Louis. _Thanks for helping me cry_. It made him laugh a little. “Yeah, no problem. Anytime.” Harry turned to crawl into the sheets and Louis smiled fondly. “I’ll get you both tea _and_ salt water in case you don’t like it so much.” He got to his feet and shuffled out the door, but Harry calling his name had him stop to turn around.

“Thank you. For being here. For a lot.“ Harry said, looking at him seriously, his eyes slightly red from crying, but there was such honesty and admiration in them that Louis could feel his heart skip a beat. “You deserve infinite wishes.”

Louis bit his lip to bite back a smile. He huffed out a small laugh and shook his head. “You wouldn’t have a tail if you gave me all your wishes. I don’t need so many. I’m… I’m actually really content, Harry. I don’t know how I’ve really helped you this time around other than getting you this boat—“

“I can name plenty.” Harry said firmly.

Louis’ eyes crinkled as he smiled widely. _So much for hiding it._ He leaned his side against the doorway and crossed his arms. “Okay. Well. If I deserve… wishes again…” He shook his head, already politely declining. “I don’t want you to give them to me. I mean… I’m not helping you—if I even  _am_ at all—for the sake of… wishes in reward. I did at first. When we met, y’know? Sure. But after actually talking to you nearly all night, I honestly didn’t give a fuck if I got a wish or not after it. I actually had had… _so much fun_ that night. We were doing nothing together. Just talking and waiting. It was so nice. And… and this is just me doing this for you because I want to.”

Harry was quiet. They were both smiling at each other, and Louis was so happy to know that sincerity was all that was between them. That heartfelt energy they shared was something Louis was feeling right in his gut, swelling in the best way. They were so comfortable with one another that Louis was wordlessly grateful that they did want to do so much for each other, whether it be small like give moral support or massive like grant infinite wishes. It was a really nice feeling to know they were selfless when it came to one another.

“Gonna get you those drinks and you just… you just rest up,” Louis bowed exaggeratedly and backed up from view with an arm extended out. “ _Your Grace._ ”

Harry's laugh was music. Louis’ laugh was music. Together, they were a symphony. “Shut up.”

When Louis came back from making tea and grabbing water—he’d made a tea for himself, too. All three glasses were currently hugged to his chest—one of Harry’s pillows was tearstained. Harry was lying on his side, trying to catch his breath from sobbing, seeming like he was just about finished but still had a tiny bit left in him. As Louis set the drinks beside Harry on the little nightstand that was more or less a part of the wall behind the bed, Harry reached out for him, placing a hand on his forearm.

“Can we just talk for a while?”

How could Louis say no to that? He smiled and hurried to jump up on the bed with him from the other side, criss crossing his legs as Harry took the tea mug. Louis cleared his throat loudly and looked at Harry patiently. Harry looked back to the platform that served as the nightstand and laughed, grabbing the second mug to hand to Louis.

Louis took the mug from him and nodded. “Of course we can talk for a while. Nothing would make me happier.”

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**H**

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At some point or another, Louis said something about how irrelevant timezones seemed to be. Harry didn’t know what he meant, but it was probably the most amusing thing he ever did hear. Louis ranted about how this entire voyage had made him realize the reality of the sun’s position everywhere on the earth and how he was slowly losing all sense of time and didn’t know what day it was anymore—and this was after looked at his phone when he received a text from his sister, Lottie—and Harry could only laugh because he had no idea what the hell Louis was talking about.

“Did you know Australia is always in the future? But really, it’s stupid because you can just go on a yacht and head over to the future all you want, then. Or, of course, hypothetically, if we were being honest with Zayn and actually went to _Boston_ , I’m pretty sure they’re stuck in the past compared to where I live. But to them, I’m in the future, and everyone to Australia is stuck in the past. But to everyone living in those places, they think _they're_ in the present and everything is skewed up! And this, Harry, is why the world did _not_ end in 2012.”

It was the most endearing thing he’d done today. Harry covered his mouth as he laughed into it and nodded in agreement, even if he didn’t know what he was agreeing to. Merfolk didn’t exactly care for time. They just saw when the sun rose and fell to make way for the moon and stars. Harry didn’t ever understand how some places had the sun and moon up at different times—the thing Louis was talking about, it seemed—but it never was a worry to him. Louis on the other hand seemed to have had some sort of epiphany about the entire ordeal. If he were being honest with himself, he could watch Louis talk his ear off about anything and everything and Harry would listen like his life depended on it. Louis’ voice was incredible, and Louis now seemed like he was very passionate on the subject of ‘timezones’, so seeing him being this enthused was beautiful. Louis was beautiful.

“Yeah, alright. You’re right, Lou.”

“Of course I am.” Louis nodded, as if he were agreeing with Harry _and_ himself. Harry huffed out a small laugh as he leaned his elbow on his crossed leg and rested his thumb under his chin, his other fingers covering his mouth as he watched Louis.

It was absolutely hysterical, too, because Louis was sitting on the counter beside the sink in the kitchen area with his softer-than-Louis sweater that was actually a little bit too big for him on the sleeves. The little boats on his feet were something called ‘slippers’ and his pajama pants were warm and large on him. He liked when Louis looked smaller than usual. He just liked Louis all the time, really.

“Time is more of an illusion if you think of it. It doesn’t even _exist_. It’s some weird human made concept.”

“I can definitely agree with that.” Harry said, raising his hand slightly with his fingers wiggling. 

Louis stared at him. “You’re funny.” He whispered, turning to grab his tea to sip it. “How’re you liking those eggs… just kidding you've eaten them all.” Louis craned his neck to see and hummed happily at that.

“They were fine, yeah. Great, thank you so much.” It was also cold. It was gradually getting colder and colder despite the two of them staying in the warm salon. That only meant that they were getting close to Antarctica. He exhaled through his mouth and gasped as what looked like pale smoke left his mouth. “Louis?” He asked, fearful of the very thing. He looked up at Louis, who frowned and looked at him in question. “What’s happening to my breath?”

“Haz—” It happened with Louis, too. Louis blinked and hopped down the counter. “It’s quite cold, isn’t it?” He asked. Harry nodded. “I mean, it was cold up in the, erm… Arctic Ocean, when we were there. When I was there. But I think it’s colder here.” Louis sipped at his tea again and stood against the table beside Harry. “When it’s cold, your breath kind of does that if you exhale.”

Some human things were just honestly too complicated. “Poseidon, how annoying.” Harry muttered to himself as he took a sip of his _own_ tea. He liked tea, even if it was supposed to not have salt. It wasn’t too bad. Except, well, Harry might’ve snuck a pinch of salt into it while Louis wasn’t looking. It looked a lot like sugar, too, so he couldn’t have possibly noticed. “Guess we’re getting close.”

Harry stood up and frowned. The waters would be very cold here. He barely realized it was cold in the Arctic, but here in the Southern, it might be even colder. He wished his clothes wouldn’t disappear when he went into the water. He had on some long jacket and a jumper underneath for maximum warmth. Harry’s little boats were a nice pair of boots. He loved how fashionable humans were. Now, he was like them.

But not for long.

“Everyone’s done this one, right? It’s going to be okay.” Louis said. Harry looked over at him, seeing a worried look on his face. Harry gave him a reassuring smile. It was fine. It was just a little cold.

“I’m more worried about whatever I’ve got to face this time.” Harry confessed. “Everything’s been… sort of expected, I guess, when you think of it. Sea monsters we’ve all heard of. I’m trying to think about what could be _here_.” He lifted a hand up and clapped it to his thigh, his mouth pressed into a thin line. “I honestly can’t imagine. But… I’ve gotten this far.”

Louis smiled at that. “Exactly. You’ve gotten this far. And I promise if you get too cold I’ll make you the warmest tea.” Harry’s face lit up at that promise. It was nice to have that to look forward to. And Louis. Always Louis. “Now get out of here and be careful.” He said, making Harry chuckle as he stood up and nodded. “Rooting for you.” Harry could’ve died happily just knowing that Louis said that. Louis lifted a fist up in the air to emphasize it. A surprised, short but happy giggle sounded from Harry and he quickly turned around to head out of the salon. That was a little embarrassing on his part. Just a little. _Shake it off, shake it off._

The freezing air smacked him in the face the moment he opened the door of the salon to head out. Harry hummed thoughtfully as he hugged himself. He hurried over to the stairs and let himself fall in, clothes and all, as usual. His green tail quickly sprouted out, still luminescent with soft yellow and blue shimmers here and there. The water was freezing, too, and Harry hissed at the shock it gave him. He shivered, an uncomfortable look on his face as he mentally prepared himself before diving his head under the water. 

He got used to it in a moment. Harry envied the merfolk of the southern and arctic oceans. They must truly have the greatest endurance for temperature. When he believed he was able, he peered around to see his surroundings. Given that there was no charybdis around to take his attention away from looking around, he could appreciate this ocean. He could appreciate the sea lions swimming about and climbing up on to broken ice slabs. Harry peered down underneath him at a large killer whale. They were quite vicious to their prey, but Harry waved down and a sound echoed around him from the whale. That was friendliness.

He swam and swam, grabbing his compass half an hour later when he'd reached comfort in the cool waters. _The fourth gem_ , Harry thought to himself as he stared at the spinning arrow. It stopped and paused forward. Harry looked up to see the underside of an iceberg up ahead. It was huge and beautiful, floating there in the middle of everything like it was. Was that where he was supposed to go? With a shrug, Harry swam onward, following where the arrow pointed. It always pointed towards the iceberg.

Why the iceberg?

As Harry drew closer, the arrow just barely tilted a bit to the right. He went all around the large iceberg and gasped with a jump at what he saw _inside_ the iceberg. The ice right here was clear, like a rusty mirror, which, Harry was no exact expert on icebergs, but he was sure that they weren't supposed to be so semi-transparent. Inside of it was something Harry was both coming down from being shocked from and yet terribly fascinated by. He’d seen just about the biggest shark alive in his lifetime. Two of them were accompanying him and Louis by the boat, after all. Great Whites _were_ the biggest. This… this surpassed it by more than double its size.

Thankfully, it was frozen within the iceberg, though it was horrifying, for its jaws were open threateningly in Harry’s face. Harry stared at it with fear in his eyes, only for curiosity to take over once more as he studied some of the many rows of teeth in the shark’s frozen mouth. Those teeth looked oddly familiar… but… this shark couldn’t _possibly_ be _that_ shark, could it? They were all extinct by now. There was no way…

But the teeth were unmistakable. Harry himself was a wealthy prince that had seen the currency of merfolk more than enough times, had _held_  said currency more than enough times. Those were unmistakably exactly what he thought they were, which meant that _this_ was exactly what he thought it was even if it shouldn’t be possible at _all_. It didn’t seem possible. How could a _megalodon_ be here, frozen within the underside of an iceberg?

His eyes caught something shining. He looked and saw something that made his heart sink and his gut twist uncomfortably. Harry closed his eyes and sighed slowly before opening them, his gills otherwise filtering water quickly due to his nervousness. The gem, it seemed, was actually one of the megalodon teeth that just so happened to be in the far back of the shark’s mouth. Harry gulped as his shaky hand reached into his satchel to put the compass away and pull his swords out instead. He lifted them up, cursed in his merfolk language, and hacked at the iceberg with it.

It took a long, long, long time until he actually made a real breach into it that was significant. Harry knew because the second one of his swords touched one of the shark’s teeth on accident, the shark—impossible as it should be—rammed itself from the inside of the iceberg and out, which had Harry swimming as fast as he could away from it.

Harry didn’t need to look behind him to know that the prehistoric shark was chasing him. How was he supposed to get through _this_ one?! It shouldn’t even be alive! Harry was sure that all of these things were only made possible for the sake of the entire quest. It wouldn’t surprise him, but honestly, a _megalodon_?

What if he had to get eaten again? No. Harry wasn't going to go through _that_ again. He rushed through the ocean, noticing that all the critters that were around earlier had disappeared. How convenient for them, too. Harry was left to deal with this monster. He chanced looking behind him as he kicked away as quickly as he could and wished he hadn’t. He would’ve been fine for another eighty years if he didn’t look behind him to see that the shark was actually _very_ close to the lacy, frilly tips of his caudal fin. If only there was a way to knock the teeth out of the shark without Harry even getting close to it…

Another iceberg came into view. Since Harry had no other way to go other than _away_ , he headed for it and thought that maybe he shouldn’t have worried about the cold. If he’d known he’d be getting a workout from racing away from possible death from a prehistoric shark, he probably would’ve jumped in ages ago. Harry hissed and it echoed around them, feeling frustrated and scared all the same, but the adrenaline of being chased had him moving forward.

_Of course_.

Smiling to himself, Harry sped over to the large underside of the second iceberg and turned around to face the shark. He’d managed to go faster than he ever had, putting a decent amount of distance between them both. Harry pressed his back up against the cool ice and waited as the shark bolted straight at him. Harry didn’t move. He had one shot at this or he’d be a goner. This was a risk all on its own and Harry would be lying if he said he wasn’t sure if he could do it perfectly. What if he timed it wrong? What if his plan actually didn’t matter and the shark caught him anyway?

When the shark got close enough, Harry shot upwards right before it had enough time to snap its jaws on him. The shark slammed right into the iceberg with a hard bang with its mouth open. Its jaws got caught in the small dents of the iceberg and yet the crash was hard enough for all of the teeth to break and shatter from the shark’s mouth. “Sorry.” Harry’s watery ‘voice’ echoed as he dipped low, under the shark, and searched around for a particularly shiny tooth that had to have fallen.

Nothing caught his eye. Harry’s eyes were frantic as he searched the ones that fell, and he gulped, hearing, and even _feeling_ that the shark was in pain. Of course she was. Harry couldn’t imagine that pain. He came up to the side of the shark’s mouth. It stayed where it did, having difficulty since she wasn’t moving anymore. Sharks _had_ to move to survive. “I’m so sorry…” Harry said to the large shark, his eyes settling on the one tooth that didn’t fall. It was the gem. This time, it was purple, shimmering where every cut seemed to be. Harry reached into the shark’s mouth with one of his swords and touched the tooth-shaped gem. 

Like always, a mighty glow grew and Harry’s eyes closed until it dimmed down. The shark was no more, and the gem was hovering just in front of Harry. He snagged it and placed it in his satchel along with his swords. _Four down, one to go_. He thought, another relieved set of bubbles coming out of his mouth and gill slits simultaneously. That wasn’t so bad. His mind was a little at ease in knowing there were actually _no_ megalodons left. Any remorse he had for causing pain to the shark had dissolved, too, because it was all... it was all just for the quest. It all tested his strengths. 

With that, Harry headed back towards the catamaran. It was off to the Atlantic now. One more to go.

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Secretly, during the times when Louis wasn’t near him or when he should be asleep, Harry was proudly learning that Elton John song. He never had to steal Louis’ phone again, too, because he’d written the lyrics down himself when he was able. Harry also thought pencils were weird and he didn’t like them so much despite the eraser being one of the most brilliant things humans have added on top of a writing utensil. Nothing could erase octopus ink from paper once it was there.

He hummed it to himself the moment they'd reached the Atlantic. They still had a way's to go until they got to the Caribbean. He fixed his hair and groomed his tail in the ocean as he swam alongside the manatees, humming and singing the Elton John song to each pair of sea creatures and they gave him the best critiques, saying that he definitely sounded incredible. He appreciated that. Harry had worked pretty hard on matching the pitch from the song and everything. He loved it a lot and couldn’t wait to surprise Louis—whenever that would be.

At the moment, Harry was watching a sunset from wherever they were, sitting outside on one of the steps. Louis was in the salon or in his room or something doing who-knows-what, but it was alright. It was peaceful. It was good. The curtain of water that bubbled over them was active as always to magically maintain speed and it was all good. He swayed as he hummed the tune, completely blissful and confident despite that he hadn’t finished the quest on time. He’d come to terms with the 'oh well' of it all. The only thing he could do now was finish it and get to Atlantis to the Nautical Mage and finish it all up.

What happened after that? Well, Harry didn’t really want to think about that. He would deal with that when the time came. Harry was okay now, and thinking about the coronation and meeting his… betrothed and planning for a wedding would only cause him stress he just couldn’t give attention to right now.

Jackie and Evan swam ahead to jump up into the air and back into the water, their trail forming a string of falling water that reminded Harry of a heart. It made him smile to himself. If his insides could come alive for any reason, that would be a nice visualization to describe it.

“Hazza!” Harry heard, and he turned around to see Louis. He beckoned Harry with an excited hand and Harry held up a finger for him to wait. Quickly, he pulled out his tail from the water and set it on the lower steps he was on. It was more of an after-thought to control the water on his body to dry. It happened so easily and so quickly he barely thought of it at all now. The moment he was dry and in his clothes, Harry got to his feet and hurried over to Louis on the side of the boat in the hall. “I’ve been thinking. And… I’ve got a surprise for you.” Louis took Harry's hand and had them running down the hall.

"Lou!" Harry laughed, letting him lead him towards the front of the boat. There was no keeping the confused smile from Harry’s face. “Really?” He asked as they made it to the spacious bow. Louis only nodded and took his phone out. He pressed something on it and out came some sort of percussion from the speakers, followed by some string instruments. 

“Shit.” Louis whispered. “Sorry. A Day to Remember is not what I… wanted. Even if _Have Faith in Me_ is one of my favorite songs. Ah, here we go.” He hurried to carefully stuff the phone in the back pocket of his jeans with the speakers pointed upwards. _The better to hear_ , Harry supposed. A much happier song sounded from his phone and Harry’s eyes widened in excitement when the first few seconds of softness were interrupted by the actual song, initiated by a drum and a voice. _“Wouldn’t it be nice if we were older, then we wouldn’t have to wait so long_.” The voice sang, and Louis stood in front of Harry with a crinkle eyed smile. "Beach Boys'  _Wouldn't it be Nice_."

“Are you teaching me more songs?” Harry asked, not exactly understanding what the whole surprise of it was, but whatever it was, so far, he was excited and gleeful, evident by his dimpled smile that simply complimented Louis’ grin.

Louis started to sort of bop to the song and shook his head. “I’m going to… _try_ to teach you how humans dance. Come on.” He snapped his fingers and let his upper body sway left and right gently, his shoulders doing whatever they were doing and his feet coming forward in a sort of rhythm that followed the song. “I’m gonna be terrible at this, but here we go, yeah? Just? I don’t know, honestly, you’re going to be a terrible dancer after this but… sort of try to mimic me if you want?”

Harry didn't know what to say, so he just nodded and bit his lip from smiling even more. Louis stood beside him and shook his hips left and right with the beat, his arms bent and tucked to his side as his shoulders lifted up and right alternatively. Harry eyed his movements and caught himself looking at his hips a little too much for a moment—Louis was quite curvy and those jeans were tight, what was he to do?. Louis looked like he was trying to keep a laugh in before it burst out, so Harry positioned his own arms the same and tried to shake his hips just like Louis. It was slow at first, and Harry was sure that he was off beat, so he paused for a moment and then did it again to make sure his movements were more synchronized with Louis’.

“There you go, yeah.” Louis told him with a smile. Then, Louis stepped one foot to the right and and his other followed it. He did the same, but came back to the left, and it was all in time with the music. “I don’t know what I’m doing, honestly, I probably look fucking stupid.”

“Not as stupid as I probably do.” Harry said, trying to do the same, but he moved right when Louis moved left, and they bumped into each other. That only had giggles tumbling out of them. “See? That was my fault!”

“Oh shut up, I don’t even think people do this regularly. I _really_ don't dance.” Louis then walked ahead instead, his arms still bent at his sides as one moved forward, the other back, one went forward, then back, and his shoulders bopped. “That’s from Grease but it fits I guess?” So Harry just... did the same. Louis turned to face him, and Harry did, too. Always following Louis' lead, he was. “Go backwards, but keep doing this.” He said, and Louis danced forward as Harry danced back. They smiled at each other, their eyes dancing as well with sweet embarrassment despite them having, well, fun. This was _fun_. 

The tempo changed sometimes and Louis let his arms out forward to wave them. “I mean, I guess, kind of… you know when you swim? It’s like some currents are faster or harder or something so you’d go with that differently, right? Like, depending on the… god what the fuck am I saying?” Louis rolled his eyes at himself.

“No, I understand. Yeah.” Move with it. That was it. It was a nice analogy, too. “Music’s like a wave.”

Louis was doing some sort of interesting jig that that consisted of him wiggling and hopping up and down, but he paused and stared at Harry the way he did sometimes that just got Harry’s heart running. “Yeah. Just like that.” 

The song had faded off and another replaced it. It seemed a bit slower and had some guitar. “ _We just gotta take our time, it’s like nothing really matters so let’s make this moment a crime_.”

“This song's by The Format. It's literally called _Let's Make This Moment a Crime._ Okay, alright. So. I mean, yeah. You can just sway or something. Step here and there or wherever if you want to?” Louis told him. Harry did just that, but without watching Louis, because he felt that was easy to understand, especially since he understood that the music just had to carry him like the water did. It worked until the chorus, which had Harry stopping and listening in surprise. “And then some people, like, dance with each other.” Louis said, walking over to Harry and taking his hands in his.

Harry’s heart might as well have been up in his throat. He swallowed and nodded, but the moment Louis pulled one of Harry’s arms forward and pushed one back, he made a funny face that had Harry giggling. He liked that Louis could make anything calmer and much less serious. Dancing was supposed to be fun, right? Or something like that. They both knew they were being goofs after all, so Harry supposed he could stop being stiff.

“Come on, Haz, enjoy this!” 

Harry did. He followed Louis’ movements with his arms and tugged back and forth along, their arms pulling up and down and left and right. They laughed together and Louis started to _really_ be funny. He crouched down, but only a tiny bit, before going up, then went down again, and stepped forward and back and side to side with awkward, purposeful twists of his feet. Harry was forced to step back with it, and he, too, did a couple of funny things on his own. He tried stepping back in short, quick steps and pulled Louis forward in a run. They had their arms out to their sides and wiggled their hips left and right. 

It was an interesting moment to see and be a part of when he and Louis seemed to think the exact same thing. At the same time, they slowly bent their knees, still shaking comically, and then came back up. Louis burst out laughing properly, pulling his hands back to cover his face. Harry loved seeing him this happy like that. It made him laugh. Laughter was apparently very contagious. Everything Louis was contagious. “We look ridiculous.”

“I don’t care.” Harry giggled, and he really didn’t. It was all fun once he realized they were both making idiots out of themselves for each other and it was just one of the most fun things he’d experienced since the purple sunrise. He then thought of something incredible. Harry popped his hip to the right so suddenly and earned another loud laugh from Louis. He placed his hand on his hip and shrugged his shoulder up and down. “Like this?”

One of Louis’ hands went to his tummy as he just _laughed_. “Yes, yeah, yes. Sure.” This hands down beat synchronizedswimming, being limited to just their upper body and swishing tails here and there. It was the closest thing merfolk had to dancing, and even then it really wasn’t dancing at all. Harry could bet his gems there were billions of other ways to dance. He wanted to learn them all some day, but right now, he was more than happy just being silly.

The song faded off and changed again. Another soft guitar song. Harry’s head bobbed lightly before stopping at how fast the guitar was, like it was at a desperate pace. “ _Breathe in for luck, breathe in so deep, this air is blessed, you share with me_.” The words were lovely. He could understand that now, to breathe air that way.

Louis took steps back and left and right with shimmying shoulders. Harry chased him, doing the same, but decided on something of his own, because, well, why not? He stepped forward exaggeratedly, catching the jam of guitars every few moments with the drums and jumping when that happened, his hands behind him. He was just hopping and bopping along with his head swaying this way and that. "This is Dashboard Confessional's  _Hands Down_." Louis told him.

The chorus was incredible and another change. Louis quickly grabbed Harry’s hands from behind by pulling at his arms when they were close enough. They were back to pulling and tugging, stretching their joined hands just about everywhere, but they jumped around this time, stepping in a circle. Harry followed Louis’ lead because there was no other way to. 

Harry’s favorite thing was Louis shouting the lyrics with such passion and banging his head to the beat, too. “Hang on, let’s try this.” He said, letting go of one of Harry’s hands and lifting their other joined ones high in the air. Louis started to turn their hands around against Harry and Harry had no idea what to do, so he stepped back. “No, wait, come back. I’m trying to twirl you. You’re just _tall._ ”

“Oh. Erm.” Harry grimaced. 

Louis chuckled. “Under my arm, Haz. Don’t let go.”

Harry ducked a little to go under his arm and moved to come out of it, still holding on to Louis’ hand that he just _couldn’t_ help thinking was made for his own. Harry did go in a slow circle, biting his lip nervously as he faced Louis again. “How’d I do?” He asked, unsure.

“That was actually much better than I thought it was going to be.” Harry hummed delightedly, preening at the praise.

When the bridge came along, after a couple of more silly dances with their hands together, Harry had perfected being twirled and it was actually a very fun thing to do. “Your turn.” Harry said, and he twirled Louis around. Louis came forward to set one hand on Harry’s hip and Harry did the same, but held Louis by the dip of his waist. They moved together, Louis stepping forward as Harry stepped backward and Harry was simply overwhelmed with how they moved together so well, at a moderate speed with the song’s bridge. Harry twirled Louis again and Louis was beaming so much as Harry stopped and pulled their hands out to their sides, then back together, then pulled Louis to him.

Harry looked down at him like he was the sun. Louis was, actually. If he had to choose between the purple sunrise to look at, which promised nothing but prosperity and good fortune in life, or to look at Louis, he would choose Louis.

The song was over, though, and the words were beautiful. A real soft one came on through acoustic guitars. Louis’ smile faded a little and he looked down. “Er… yeah. Okay. So. Some humans also dance together, but slowly. With slower songs.” He said. “We can keep our hands where they are. It’s just slower. Supposed to be more intimate or something. I don’t know. I don’t study dance. Never will. I’m hopeless with it.” Louis swallowed. "This is, erm... Sum 41's  _With Me_."

“Louis, you’re incredible.” Harry blurted out, but gently, and Louis licked his top lip before smiling, pressing his lips together. He looked into Louis’ eyes so Louis knew he was being sincere. He said it like he meant it, and he did mean it, more than he could admit. “So, dancing slow?”

“Slow dancing, it’s called, technically. Close enough.” Louis whispered. They swayed on the spot and Harry looked down at Louis as Louis peered up at him. “ _I don’t want this moment to ever end where everything’s nothing without you._ ” The song sang. Louis mouthed the words and stepped back, so Harry stepped forward, and they swayed even more, left and right stepping here and there, but in tinier steps. Harry looked down to make sure he wasn’t stepping on Louis’ feet, but then, by surprise, Louis stepped on his purposefully, with both, and he stayed there. 

Harry looked up to see Louis close—and a bit taller—and smiled a dimpled smile. “Hello.” 

“Hello.” Louis replied, squeezing their intertwined hands and sliding his away. He slid the other one away, too, hooking his arms around Harry’s neck. Harry was so stunned that Louis was this close to him right now, even if they’re always next to each other and the like, but this was Louis literally standing on his feet, his face closer and his arms around him, and Harry didn’t know how to do anything other than peer admiringly into Louis’ sea eyes like his life depended on it. “Is this okay?”

“Y-yeah, yes.” His voice had gone hoarse for a moment and he honestly had no idea why. Harry could feel the tiniest bit of warmth rise in his cheeks.

“Okay. You can put your hands on my waist if you want.” 

“Okay.”

So Harry did just that. He swallowed silently, looking down from Louis for a moment and hoped he could somehow keep cool in a split second. Harry’s hands fit around Louis’ waist so perfectly that it was surprising him to the core. They both swayed left and right even slower than before and Harry ever so carefully lifted his feet to still dance. Louis smiled at him and nodded. “Smart. Brave. Strong. You know that? That’s what you are.” 

A bashful, modest smile crept up Harry’s features and he shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“I’ll tell you that as many times as you need until you start to believe it yourself.” They softly laughed and Harry shook his head at Louis, so caught up with how endeared he was. Harry shifted his weight from what foot to another and it was so lovely.  _This_ was so lovely, being close to Louis like this with a pretty song and a pretty Louis. He could barely even concentrate with the blood rushing through his ears and his heart pounding against his chest, his finger tips, his forehead, his toes. Louis was so close to him and they were looking at each other as if there was nothing else in the world _but_ each other. It was something Harry couldn’t help, either, because that was just how it was right _now_. Harry hoped 'right now' would never stop.

He sucked in a quiet, shaky breath and let it out, but stopped because the song picked up with guitar and drums, both a little harder. Somehow, though, Harry could work with it. It was loud like how he was sure his heart was and honestly, he could still move like this, just swaying a little more. Louis softly laughed andcame even closer, but only to rest his head on Harry’s shoulder, moving his arms to hook under Harry’s and come up over his shoulders. “I like this song.”

“It’s nice. The words are…” _speaking for me._ “beautiful.” Harry envied humans for this type of music with words, with poetry screaming with music. He wanted to cry at a certain lyric, _these words are my heart and soul_ , and it was horrifying that he wanted to agree and shout it while holding onto the railings of the yacht, or stand right on the tip of the bow and shout it before falling into the ocean. Harry held Louis more and dropped his forehead to Louis’ shoulder.

He couldn’t. Couldn’t do any of it. Couldn’t hold Louis this close. Couldn’t let Louis hold him this close. He couldn’t say that this song spoke things he couldn’t find the words to—because really, even _he_ was at a loss for words when it came to Louis and this entire moment. Harry wished everything that was awaiting for him simply wasn’t. He wished he could still see Louis when this was all over and he could develop something even more real with him. Harry wanted nothing more than that now, to be with Louis, and his eyebrows creased as if he were about to sob into Louis’ shoulder just thinking about it. He was frustrated over it. Fuck. It just… it wasn’t fair.

This feeling was crushing Harry. He wished he could find a hateful reason about Louis to latch on, but there simply was none. He was selfless, patient, helpful, kindhearted and always genuine. Then he was funny and beautiful and his voice was an addiction to listen to on its own. It was Louis Harry had turned to privately when his fathered died through messages in a bottle, it was Louis that Harry allowed to see in his most vulnerable state, it was Louis he always came to, always wanted to see and be near because Louis made him feel safe. Louis was the first human he spoke to, the human to prove that every fear merfolk had over them might as well have been a lie if every human could be like Louis. It was Louis who did the most to those who could give him nothing in return, and to those who could, he didn't expect anything back. It was Louis he could never stop smiling with, never stop laughing with. Louis, whose eyes were like the sea itself and if Harry ever stepped foot on earth for many, many days and didn’t step into the ocean, he could always look at Louis because he was a home away from home.

And he couldn’t have him.

The song had ended at some point or another, and another one didn’t start. Harry didn’t know, but they stayed like that, unmoving, wrapped in each other warm and comfortable. Louis carefully pulled back a little bit and Harry did the same, their faces so near they could touch. Harry swallowed, looking at Louis the way he did sometimes and Louis looking back the way _he_ did sometimes. His eyes lowered to Louis’ mouth for a moment, then back to those eyes that were screaming something he couldn’t read. He could just close the space between them so easily. Louis was so close and he didn’t know if he’d have him this close again. It pained him so much to think that and it surprised him just how much it hurt. Looking at Louis was hurting and yet not. Harry wanted to savor every bit of Louis he could before he couldn’t.

“Harry?” Louis questioned. Harry could see Louis’ eyes glance down to his own lips and it was just there. It was so _there_ that Harry felt he should act, _wanted_ to act. He lifted his hands up to rest against the sides of Louis’ neck and he leaned in, because it was killing him not to.

Everything stopped because water was suddenly spraying them and Harry’s legs disappeared underneath him. His tail had returned for the moment from the ocean water and Harry clung onto Louis’ shoulders so he didn’t fall. Louis’ hands were around his middle so fast to catch him. Somewhere in the back of everything, Harry could hear dolphins laughing. 

He would kill them if he didn’t like them so much.

Louis laughed out loud and the next thing Harry knew, he was being lifted up with one of Louis’ hands on his back and the other under the middle of his tail, the lower part bending over his forearm. “Embarrassing. Let me just get myself dry so you don’t have to carry me—“

“Haz it’s fine, don’t, don’t.” Louis laughed, shaking his head. “I think my phone died anyway so we can just head inside. I guess it’s about nighttime here so we can just snooze off.” Harry crossed his arms over his chest bitterly and that only made Louis laugh even more as he started walking. His angry expression didn’t meet his eyes, though, because Louis always tended to make Harry fond over him one way or another. He couldn’t help it. Louis was laughing and it was gorgeous.

On second thought, Harry might just royally execute his pets for ruining a perfect moment and embarrassing him. 

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

 

Louis was gone.

Harry woke from being thirsty. It was the middle of the night and as he looked over to his nightstand, he saw he’d already drunken all of his salt water. He yawned and slid off the bed to grab the empty glass before leaving the cabin sleepily, his feet dragging on the floor. In thinking of Louis, wondering if he needed anything—and he might as well check, seeing as he was already up—he called out his name as he neared the door. He didn’t receive an answer, but he stood against the doorway and peered into his cabin. He called his name again, but no answer. Frowning when his eyes saw a little clearer, Harry blinked a few times, only to see Louis wasn’t in bed or in the cabin at all.

He listened hard. It didn’t sound like Louis was in the bathroom. Maybe he was in the galley or salon. He certainly wasn’t here, so Harry shrugged with a hum and hurried up to the salon and kitchen. He looked around, only to find that Louis wasn’t here either. “Louis…” Harry whispered, setting the glass on a counter and heading outside in the cool night.

Louis wasn’t outside, either. Panic started to rise in Harry as he searched around the entire yacht, outside, before sprinting back inside the salon. “Louis?!” Harry shouted, knocking something over that he couldn’t possibly care about because Louis was missing. He wasn’t _anywhere_. Harry checked around a third and fourth time, but Louis Tomlinson had somehow disappeared off the yacht.

What happened to him?

Harry hurried back to his room to grab his satchel before heading out and sprinting over to the side of the yacht, slamming himself against the side to peer down. The sharks were there, swimming straight as ever alongside the boat at an impossible speed thanks to oceanic powers. Harry pulled himself up and over the railing to jump into the water,passing through the surrounding curtain of water, the better to ask them questions.

“Have you seen Louis?” Harry asked, his melodic, lacy ‘voice’ echoing to them as he swam beside them. The sharks nodded. “Where?! What happened?” 

“To the bottom.” One of the sharks said—Harry was positive this one was named Wicken—and Harry’s heart immediately sank. Louis was human. He couldn’t breathe underwater, and if it was irrelevant right now, it wouldn’t be later. He lowered his gaze, only to realize that the waters were much warmer here. They were here. The Caribbean. The Bermuda Triangle. This was the final test. He had to save Louis from the abyss.

Harry sped down, eyes searching for the drop off. His tail glowed behind him in worry and determination, serving as light. He paused, hovering under the water when he realized he had to think straight, think clearly. Louis was missing and he needed to find him. _The compass_. He reached into his satchel to grab it, thinking of Louis, thinking of finding Louis, and it was the strongest desire he had. Would the compass work for things or people that weren’t the gems?

The compass pointed north west and Harry followed, swimming and watching as the needle pointed every which way whenever it needed to direct him. It was only when he passed something that the needle started turning _back_ that Harry knew he had reached a checkpoint. His eyes scanned underneath him, but there was a _lot_ of ocean life still. He had to get to the very, very bottom, so Harry swam straight down, nodding only when the drop off to the abyss became visible.

It was a little terrifying. Merfolk tended to steer clear of the abyss due to the creatures within. Harry had to swallow every bit of fear because Louis was down here. He passed a couple of large eyed spookfish, rushed away from a horrifying shark that looked like they'd been turned inside out, had been scared shitless from the sight of fangtooth fish. He was once attracted to an angler fish until he realized gems didn’t move like they were being dangled. Harry had seen countless of cephalopods that were bizarre looking on their own, but strayed away from them.

A couple of viperfish did give Harry some trouble. They’d been known to swallow prey larger than them. Harry had to fight them off and hissed at them, his voice rocking in a vibrating echo with incredible assertive authorization. The Atlantic was _his_ ocean. They listened to him. That was when the viperfish got out of his way and no other deep sea creature dared to cross his path. Harry was free to find Louis again.

Reaching the bottom of the trench, Harry followed the compass again as it pointed his way. He swam carefully for a long time, only now realizing just how long trenches really were, but it was only when he started hearing watery songs that Harry put his compass away. He followed the songs since they sounded rather human, in different accents, too. Harry could only wonder what he was about to face. 

When he curved around, he saw a large abandoned ship crashed at the bottom of the trench in front of him. Lights came from the insides despite how rusty and moldy the ship was. It was an old ship, too, from centuries past. Harry swam closer, only to see people lounging at the foot of the ship and on the ship, laughing and singing, but as he looked clearly, he saw that they looked… nothing _like_ humans, really.

They were dead. they had to be. Some looked like skeletons, some had disfigured heads, and all of them looked like they blended and rusted with the ship. Some of them even had adapted parts of deep sea fishes into their bodies and it was horrifying to see. Harry swallowed hard as he approached them and everyone quieted.

“I’m looking for my friend, Louis Tomlinson.” Harry spoke, but in human English, and his voice sounded strange in the water. He lifted his head high and he looked at the crowd of what may as well be pirates. They stared back at him before cackling throatily. Harry unsheathed the swords from his satchel and stared them down. “Let me make this clear, men.” Harry began, pointing the longswords in the general direction of all the men. “I’m looking for my friend, Louis Tomlinson. Have you seen him? And if you have, I’d like him back, seeing as he’s human and won’t do well in the water for too long.”

“Someone say they're looking for Tomlinson?” A voice from behind Harry asked, gravelly and cracking. It made a shiver run down Harry’s spine, or maybe the clunking of the man's feet against the rusted wood of the ship did, but he turned around to face a man who looked the worst out of all of them. “Ah, the destined king of the Atlantic.” He spit, and Harry bared his teeth in a threatening hiss. “That human is what you care for and desire most, then?”

Harry’s face fell. “What do you mean?”

“You desire the human the most, don’t you? Care for him, yes? Or else we wouldn’t have snagged him and dragged him to the abyss with us.” Harry swallowed hard. “A merman… and a human.” The supposed captain said, loud and clear for all to hear. He walked near Harry before laughing in his face. “ _A HUMAN AND A MERMAN_!” He shouted, and Harry shut his eyes. He could only imagine what others would say if they knew that Harry genuinely cared for Louis, or even spoke to him ever, became his friend, and wanted to be with him in every other way possible. That even included ways he just didn’t understand himself quite yet. He just wanted Louis and wanted to care for him always. It was an impossible concept, an abomination to those of the sea. It was simply unheard of.

There was a dangerous patience to the forced calmness of Harry's voice when he asked, “Can I please just… take him back?”

The captain eyed him amusedly. Harry wanted to barf. He felt sick to his stomach. “Get through us and you can have him back, _little prince_. Or should I say _air siphon lover_?” The captain taunted before laughing, which signaled that the rest of his undead crew could laugh, too. That was right. Sea creatures and merfolk called humans 'air siphoners'. It was deemed something really rude to say, and only those who had great hatred for them really called them that. Two-leggers was a lesser term, but still ugly.

Harry had never felt such actual rage. He was so determined to save Louis, get him back to the surface, safe. He was positively livid that this was all just so funny to the captain—and Harry  _knew_ who this captain was, too, considering  _where_ he was. He was so angry that he was shaking. He would hear no more taunts about his and Louis' friendship anymore. If they wanted a sword fight, many to one, then so be it. The thing was that this was his ocean and he wasn’t alone. He could control these waters. Everything was catered to him here. Harry wasn’t as defenseless as they seemed to think he was.

“Fuck off, Davy Jones.” Harry said with his eyes narrowed, and the sound of Harry’s nautical voice echoed through the trench with a command that shook everything around them.

It was in no time that sounds could be heard of bunches of somethings rushing through the water around them in the dark. Harry had to admit he did blend in with his glowing tail down here. Harry gave Davy Jones a confident smirk as the most monstrous deep sea fishes came in what seemed like a never ending crowd to his assistance, ready to attack the crew. Harry turned his head to look over his shoulder briefly before looking back at the captain’s horrified expression. The feared and pained cries and shouts of the crew behind Harry were terrible on their own, but Harry was determined to prove this undead captain that Harry was king once and for all and that he was not to be underestimated.

Davy Jones unsheathed his own sword and Harry replied with two of his own. The metals clanged and shrieked together as they hit and lunged with every perfect block. Harry had an advantage in swimming. He couldn’t screw around any longer. He had to get Louis, so without wasting time, he curled around Davy Jones as fast as he could and plunged his sword into his back. The captain dissolved into dust right before his eyes and Harry sighed in relief.

He turned around to face the inner cabin that Davy Jones had come out of and hurried to head inside, swimming around and shouting for Louis until he found him, floating in the middle of what Harry could only assume was the meeting room of the ship, his eyes closed, submerged and silent. Harry swam to his side and his hands flew to hold Louis’ face. “Louis, Lou… Lou…” But Louis didn’t respond or open his eyes or anything. Harry frantically felt for his pulse at his neck.

There was no pulse.

Harry let out a shaky breath and shook his head. "No, no,  _no_!" He shouted, taking his face as his tail curled under Louis, glowing even more from the immediate denial that this was  _not_ the end, but being the most scared he'd ever been... because what if it was? "Please, please... Louis, please. Open your eyes, oh my...  _please_." He begged, swallowing tightly. This couldn't be real. None of this could be real. Louis couldn't possibly be...

Something underneath Louis caught Harry’s eye. It was an egg timer filled with sand. Most of the sand was at the bottom of the egg timer, while the top half was nearly empty. The sand continued to fall through the thin tube in between both halves.

Harry still had  _time_. He had to get Louis to the surface before it ran out. That had to be it.

That was when he remembered he  _had one thing_ in his satchel. It was something he always forgot, but it was there. He reached in frantically, his hands shaking as he grabbed the mermaid scale. It was the free wish. "Please, please, please, give Louis more  _time_." He whispered desperately. He eyed the egg timer, but felt the scale in his hand turn into a small pile of sand. It flew off of his palm and seeped into the top of the egg timer. It wasn't a lot. Just some.  _Fuck this quest_.

Harry had to get Louis out of here _now_.

“Come on, Louis.” Harry said, looping an arm around his middle and tugging him away and out of the ship. He didn’t pay anything around him any mind. Harry shot upwards, his tail kicking behind him, desperate for speed, desperate to get Louis to the surface before that time ran out. What would happen when time _did_ run out? Would Louis die? Would he properly start to drown? Either way, that meant Louis would be dead, and Harry didn’t ever want to see that in his lifetime.

Coming out of the trench was one of the most relieving things ever. Everything from here was straight and safer. Tugging Louis with him was a bit hard, but Harry was managing. He _had_ to manage. He whispered encouraging words to an unconscious—fuck this, Louis was unconscious until he was proven otherwise—Louis to hang in there, that he was almost there, to stay alive, and Harry felt his entire body straining to just hurry up and get to the surface. He wasn’t sure if his mind was playing games or not, but even if he was getting closer to the surface, he felt like it was still agonizingly far away. So, Harry kicked upwards even faster than ever, faster than when a megalodon was chasing him, faster than when a kraken’s eight arms were chasing him, faster than anything he’d ever done in his life, because Louis’ life depended on it.

Harry pushed Louis up when they broke surface and Louis woke the second air hit him. He gasped hard and sucked in extreme breaths, panting with his eyes wide with fear. Harry came up second, and it was just a second too late, because Louis started panicking even more in such a short amount of time, blubbering and heaving for breath. Harry quickly reached for him and held him tightly, only to feel Louis’ arms cling to him for dear life.

Louis hiccuped a few breaths and sobbed against Harry. Harry hugged him tightly, squeezing his arms around his slim figure. “I’m here, Lou. You're safe.”

“F-fuck, that was… th-that was… horrifying, Harry, I didn’t…. I-I drowned, I swear, I swear, I d-don’t know, I thought I was d-dead. I don’t know, I don’t kn-know.” Louis’ breathing was so shallow and broken that Harry wished he could do something more than hug him and rub soothing circles against the wet fabric of his shirt. “What happened? What happened?!” Louis asked against Harry’s skin, burying his face into his shoulder. “Wh-what happened…?”

Harry exhaled shakily. He couldn’t believe Louis was a part of the quest in the worst possible way. He'd done so much to make sure Louis wasn't hurt during this entire voyage, and yet he was because Harry cared so much about him that he needed and wanted him the very most.

He understood what happened, albeit slowly. Louis was magically drawn to jump off the boat and was dragged down. And he drowned, but with magic, was set for the possibility of Louis regaining his life only for a certain time. Harry couldn’t believe that risk. He couldn’t believe Louis had almost _permanently_ died like this. He should have _never_ brought him along, shouldn’t have ever asked Louis for help. How could Harry have asked Louis to come along?!

“I’m so sorry, Louis, I’m so, so sorry.” Harry whispered, pulling back a little so Louis could look up at him. "I'm so sorry." He whispered, repeating it against Louis’ forehead, pressing a kiss to his wet fringe. Louis’ desperate gasps for breath had lessened, but he softly whimpered from the shock of it all, and Harry could understand, and yet he didn’t at all. He would never understand what it’d be like to be dragged into the deepest waters and drown. Shit, Louis _drowned_. Louis fucking drowned. “I’m gonna take you back to the boat. You’re safe now. You’ll always be safe now. I’m so fucking sorry.”

Harry whistled loudly, and it echoed through the air. In seconds, the yacht had sped right to them in an impossible blur that should’ve set the thing on fire, but the protecting bubble did its job. He helped Louis swim to the stairs of the yacht and Louis pulled himself up on it, calming down a little now. At least, he was _visibly_ calming down. Louis had... died, right? He did die for some time. Harry came up beside him and pulled his tail up so he could dry himself in seconds. The second that happened, Harry picked Louis up by hooking his arm under his legs and the other under his back. Louis in turn wrapped his arms around Harry’s neck and Harry carried him into the boat and down into his room.

With Harry holding Louis, Louis had dried off. He looked soft, fluffy and warm again, but the expression on his face was full of exhaustion and stoic disbelief. Harry whispered apologies again as he looked down at him, unable to fathom what Louis had gone through, unable to apologize enough and wishing he could make Louis feel okay again. Louis looked up at Harry wordlessly, his arms tightening around him with every apology and his eyes fluttering closed sleepily.

“Tired?” Harry asked as he entered Louis’ cabin. Louis nodded his head seeming like he was trying to fight that exhaustion every time his eyes opened just a little. “Okay.” Harry grimaced once he stood at the side of the bed and pulled at the covers awkwardly, still trying to hold Louis. He gave up on pulling at the sheets and carefully set him on the bed. “I’m sorry Louis.” Harry chanced again as he opened the bed up for him. Louis helped and shimmied himself under the sheets, Harry pulling them over him. Carefully, Harry sat at the edge of the bed at Louis’ side, his mind racing with the same thought, that this was his own fault. He did this to Louis. 

“I know.” Louis whispered, looking up at him when he rested his head against the pillow. “It was just… it was really… scary.” His voice was vulnerable and quiet, but Harry could hear it all. He couldn’t possibly express his genuine apologies for what had just happened, never wanted to see Louis this frightened again. His eyebrows furrowed worriedly, overwhelmed with wanting to simply be there for Louis since that was all he could do. Maybe Louis hated him now. Maybe he didn’t even want to be near him. Maybe he should go.

“Do you need anything?” Harry asked, ready to give him what he wanted. “Tea?”

Louis smiled sadly, and even if it was sad and etched with tiredness, it was still a smile. Harry was relieved to see it. “I appreciate that… but… you don’t know how to make tea.”

This was true. Harry huffed out a small laugh through his nose. “I can try. I can learn. I’ll… I don't know.” The appreciation Louis said he had was expressed on his face. He was calming down now that he was no longer in the water, dry, tucked in his bed. Harry was happy about that. He hoped Louis’ mind was easing as well. “You know how you searched for photos and videos on your phone?” Louis nodded. “Does that work for searching how someone can make tea?”

The soft laugh that came from Louis was relieving to hear. “It does, yeah. You can borrow it if you really want to try to make me tea.” Harry hummed delightedly and reached over to snatch the phone from the nightstand. “1, 2, 2, 4.” Louis voiced, and Harry should remember that he wasn’t supposed to know the passcode. “If you go on the safari button at the bottom—the blue compass,” Harry smiled a little. He was starting to like compasses a lot lately. “And then you can type on the address bar on the top how to make tea. And it’ll take you to a lot of different links.”

Harry decided to just lay down beside Louis on the other side, holding the phone above their heads as Louis explained to him how to work safari and google and scrolling through a webpage. It was a lot, but easy enough to understand as Louis simply explained. He also wished Louis would rest because after being dragged to the bottom of the ocean and going unconscious, he expected that had taken a lot out of him.

Then, Louis yawned, and Harry never wanted to physically wrap him into a ball and cuddle him more. It was surprisingly high pitched and short, with Louis covering his mouth to conceal it as much as he could. Harry’s smile was once again apologetic. Louis nodded with his eyes and Harry was relieved he didn't see any anger within them. He knew Harry was so deeply sorry. Right now, the important thing was that Louis wasn’t dead. He was okay, here with him. This was good.

“I’ll get on that, then.” Harry said, springing up from the bed and hurrying to the upper deck to head to the galley. He knew where everything was. Seeing Louis make tea every time he was able was enough to embed a few things into his memory. Harry also did just about everything the webpage told him to do. It even included pictures, which was nice. The human world _was_ a wonder, so terribly convenient and handy. How could Harry not love it?

When Harry was done, he was crouching a slightly with his hand gripping the counter's edges and his eyes level with the brim of the mug. He rose up a little and tilted his head left and right, his eyebrows quirking in confusion every which way. That was it? The tea bag just… went in there? How did the flavor come out? What was he supposed to now? Had he done something wrong? He looked at the phone again to make sure he followed steps perfectly, but it all looked fine. He wasn’t an idiot, could easily follow instructions. Harry stood straighter and peered down at the teacup. “Oh.” He whispered, laughing to himself as the darker liquid started to seep into the hot water.

After a couple of minutes, Harry removed the teabag from the mug. He supposed he was done, then. Fantastic. 

Harry took the mug and hurried off down stairs to Louis’ cabin. “I think I did it.” He exclaimed happily, sitting at the edge of the bed by Louis, who yawned and sat up, rubbing at his eyes for a moment before smiling at Harry. “A physical act of atonement for you being dragged into the abyss... and...” How could that have fucking happened? "and then some."

“Oh, thank you so much, Harry.” Louis said, his eyes half lidded, but he smiled so much that his eyes looked almost shut. Harry was glad. Louis took the mug and peered down into it. lifted it to his lips, blowing a little of the steam before taking a careful sip. His eyebrows rose up and he looked at Harry with gleeful surprise. “It’s actually quite good.”

Harry shrugged shyly. “I mean, I have been watching you make this every day.” He said, setting Louis’ phone down on the nightstand. “Just… had to make sure I didn’t screw it up. Everything after the tea was easy. You don't like sugar. Some… some milk."

Louis chuckled. “It’s fantastic, thank you.” He sipped at his tea and made himself even more comfortable against the pillows behind him. Harry gave him a smile after a little while of comfortable silence and nodded before he turned around to head out, but stopped when Louis’ delicate hand clasped around his wrist. “For the love of god, Harry, please stay.” He whispered shakily. Harry turned around to face Louis again, his eyes burning with the weight of the plea he’d just voiced. Louis was still scared.

“Okay. Okay, Lou. Of course I will.” Harry reassured him in his own soothing tone. The corners of Louis’ lips twitched upward nervously and Harry carefully crawled up on the bed to lay beside him once more, but on his stomach, hugging a pillow underneath his chin as he looked at Louis. “Will you be okay?” Harry asked. He was sure he’d never seen _anyone_ that scared, never seen anyone clutch onto him like if he didn’t, he would die. The aftermath of the charybdis was one thing, but this was physically done _to_ Louis. He actually suffered something he had no control over. “I shouldn’t have brought you along, I had no idea this… this quest was going to make you a part of it.”

Louis looked down at him, holding his mug close as he criss crossed his legs under the sheets. “I think I’ll be fine.” He said, nodding surely. “I mean I’m just. I’ve had a really nice time despite the scary things. That was… it was kind of evident and… I mean, we both assumed sea monsters and the like would be involved in this a little after we started heading off. I could’ve turned the boat around at that time. I’m fine, it’s fine, Iloved spending time with you and helping you however I was able to. I’ll be okay. And you didn’t know this would happen, Haz, I can see that you didn’t.”

The lower half of Harry's face was buried behind the bend of his arm and his jade eyes peered up at Louis. “I’m still sorry. It's just... Louis, I checked... your pulse and it wasn't... it wasn't there. I was about to fucking break.”

Louis was silent for a moment before he said, “Please don’t be. Sorry, that is.” Louis’ voice was hushed. They were both trying to comfort each other and it was silly to Harry because he was pretty sure Louis needed to be comforted more than anything right now. “It’s done now. And… on a heroic sort of scenario, I’m touched that you saved me from delayed... _real_  death.”

Harry shook his head at him. It was fine that Louis was trying to make it lighter now, but honestly, Harry had been worried to the very core for Louis. “Louis, for fuck's sake. If anything had happened to you—and it did—I’d go out of my fucking mind. And I did. I honestly wouldn’t have known what to do with myself if you did die, Lou. I was so _close_ to being late. You have no idea how fast I tried to get to you. There was a timer. I was being timed and…” Harry sighed. “I was scared for you, too. I… I can’t lose you.”

The two of them were silent once more, the air heavy with the last four words, with what they could mean, with what they _did_ mean, but Harry couldn’t _say that_. He could never say that really. It killed him that he couldn’t express to Louis how much he meant to him. It was scary just how much, too. Harry tried to find words in his mind that said just how much Louis meant to him, but it was jumbled with everything that he felt instead. Words would never do this feeling justice. 

Louis pulled him back from his messy mind with words that had Harry’s heart swelling. He was so soft-spoken now, but full of serene honesty that Harry could sleep in this moment, in Louis’ voice, in everything this meant. “I can’t lose you, either.”

Harry guessed he could understand. Louis _was_ scared for Harry after the charybdis and thought he’d just seen him die. It was a lot like that for them both. Louis sipped at his tea again and set it on the nightstand before he adjusted himself so he was lying down on his side, facing Harry. They looked at each other with eyes that spoke things they wouldn’t say to each other, one long, long look that said more than Harry could grasp, but they were also both tired. 

“Mmm,” Louis hummed sleepily. “Before I forget… I… apparently I had this on. I expect it belongs to you.” He reached inside the neck of his shirt. Harry frowned, noticing only just now that Louis had a silver chain around his neck. He hadn’t always had that on, had he? Louis pulled out the necklace from being tucked away and held what looked like a shimmering blue rock between his thumb and index finger. “You certainly deserve this after saving my life, I think.” 

Oh. Right. The precious gemstone. Harry had completely forgot that he was supposed to get that. “Thanks, Lou.” He said. From where he was, with Louis holding the crystal pendant with his two fingers, Harry thought that the stone really complimented the blues of Louis’ eyes. His eyes actually might as well be precious gems themselves. “You can keep it if you want 'til we get home.” He said, yawning mid-sentence. Louis yawned right after that and nodded slowly. “Goodnight, Louis.”

“Goodnight, Harry.” Louis’ eyes closed, and Harry’s followed not too long after.

Louis was safe and here. That was all that mattered now. Tomorrow, he would surprise Louis. He deserved that.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

**L**

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

They slept for so long. Louis had woken up for seconds every few hours, happy to know that Harry was still sleeping right next to him—that was another emotion on its own. He tried not to think about how sweet it was to see Harry sleeping next to him—and dozed off for another few hours. He was far too comfortable, too. Sleep was nice and there were no nightmares. The fear from the night before had dwindled away for the sleepiness. It was all good. He was safe now, and Harry was here and safe, too.

When they both actually woke up, it was around evening and they were still cruising along. He expected that as much, too. Just another day or so of cruising and they’d be home. “Hazza,” Louis whispered, gently shaking him awake. “We should probably get up now, huh?” He asked with a soft laugh. Harry groaned, as if it were too much energy to do so, and Louis laughed. “Fine, well, I’m off to shower.”

At the mention of showering, Harry shot up and his eyes widened. “What’s the time of day?”

“Evening.” Louis said, grabbing clothes for himself.

“I need to go off and groom.” Harry sounded horrified that he'd slept for so long. It made Louis laugh again as he saw Harry running out. Louis quickly showered and dressed, and when he thought he looked okay, he stepped back into his cabin, only to notice Harry’s satchel was on the foot of his bed. Louis grabbed it by the strap and scoffed lightly in disbelief yet again at how light it was—when it _really_ shouldn’t be—as he made his way up to the salon. 

Harry was nowhere to be seen, so he guessed he was still in the water. Louis stepped out into the cockpit and walked around to hop up onto the bow of the boat, smiling down at the sharks on his side against the surrounding bubble. They really weren’t so bad after all, especially compared to the creatures they’ve come across during this entire voyage.

He stood against the tip of the bow lazily, leaning his arms over the railings. It was so very nice to be here. The sun was working on setting and the sky was bleeding warm colors. It was a contrast to how he felt last night. He was still a little shaken from what had happened to him. His stomach coiled uncomfortably just thinking about it. Louis should distract himself and just keep waiting for Harry.

He looked down into the satchel and carefully reached inside. His eyes widened at the rocks he felt and the tips of the swords gently poking his skin. When his hand closed around something solid and smooth, Louis smiled and pulled it out of the satchel, retrieving the compass. He set the bag on the floor behind him and lifted the lid up to see the spinning arrow. Would it even work for him if he tried or was this something that only worked for Harry? Well, it wouldn’t hurt to test it out, right?

“Er… so, ok.” What if he needed to find the salon? _Salon_. The compass’ arrow stilled before spinning to point directly behind him. “Very good, nice.” It was pretty cool that it could work for a simple human like him. Louis looked up at the sky and grinned. “Ah… okay. Okay.” He had another one. A harder one. Louis half expected the arrow to point north, or near north, since the boat was heading that way. “Point me home.” He said nonchalantly with a shrug.

The arrow didn’t do at all what he expected. It had been pointing directly south one second, but only moved to point south east. Louis frowned. “Like, _my_ home.” It didn’t move for a moment, but it did, slowly, not as fast as it did when it had nowhere to point to, going clockwise. “Stupid thing’s defective.”

Fine, Louis could take a hint. It didn’t really work for him.

When the arrow started nearing north west and closer to north, Louis looked up. Harry’s tail was gliding underwater. From where Louis stood, he seemed pretty damn happy to be in the water, just swimming about without a care in the world. It made Louis smile warmly to himself and his eyes widened when Harry shot out from the water and into the air. His eyes followed Harry’s movement, as if it was possible, as if he was going in slow motion, soaring through the air as he fell elegantly in an arc before diving right back into the water. Louis quietly wished he could do that. It just looked like fun.

He looked down, deciding to put he compass back into the sack, but he paused at something that was strange to him. The needle of the compass was pointing north in front of him. It didn’t move other than barely left and right, but always pointed right there. He looked up and caught Harry’s shimmering tail swimming around the boat. Louis swallowed, looking down at the compass once more and stared. The arrow was following where Harry was going. It was pointing to Harry.

_Home?_

Louis swallowed. The arrow was still following Harry and Louis… Louis followed where the compass led him. He moved quickly,trying to keep up with Harry’s swimming as he ran down the side of the boat’s thin hallway and reached around the salon. He hurried down carefully to the side stairs and stopped at the lowest step. The arrow stilled right in front of him and Louis swallowed hard.

Harry’s head rose above the water and he pulled himself up onto the stairs. Louis quickly moved to make room, looking away from him, afraid that his face would expose just about everything in the world.

That was a lot to take in. That _truth_ was a lot to take in. His heart drummed against his chest, agitated from what that meant in the best way. It was overwhelming and _true_. He didn’t even realize how very, very true that was. Harry was… he really was Louis’ home away from home. It was real, and that just meant something else entirely that he couldn’t admit quite yet. Louis felt stupid, too, because maybe admitting _that_ made more sense than coming to terms with someone being his home.

Actually, they were both ludicrous and yet he felt it to the very core of his being, couldn’t help it if he tried. It sunk into him in the most bittersweet way, but for now, it was mostly sweet, causing him to smile to himself uncontrollably as he sat down on the step right next to Harry. 

“What’s up?” Harry asked, bringing him back to where they were, away from his thoughts. 

Louis composed himself as quickly as he could. “I’ve just got your… your things. They were on my bed.” He said, putting the compass back into his satchel and holding it out for him. Harry beamed and took it from him with a mouthed ‘thank you’. He smiled admiringly at Harry, looking at him, seeing him and couldn’t help thinking how unbelievably honored he was to have met Harry Styles, to have him in his life this way. It was more than he could’ve ever dreamed when meeting someone, let alone the merman king of the Atlantic. Such a kindhearted, genuine person didn’t come into your life like this for nothing. Louis was quietly overjoyed as he looked at Harry the way he did sometimes when he could see how beautiful he was in every way possible, all of his endearing qualities simply on fire right in front of his eyes.

Louis never stood a chance.

“What’re you looking at?” Harry asked. He didn't look bothered by it, but more bashful, what with the tiny smile that he looked uncertain of showing. 

“I’m sorry. Just… I’m happy, thankful, even, to have met you.”

Harry’s forest eyes softened at that, accompanied by a lopsided grin. “Me too, Louis. I’m happy to have met you. It’s been a privilege to have known you.” Louis could cry, embedding those words into his mind for safe keeping. They were too sweet and so very much. Louis smiled at him some more and nodded as Harry pulled his tail up to replace his legs. Harry stood up and walked off, leaving Louis to look behind him, watching him retreat, watching the merman he never would’ve believed he’d care for so much to just… to just _be_.

His home away from home.

Louis stayed on the steps for a little while, staring out at the sun setting until it disappeared from the horizon and left the sky a dark blue. That was his cue to get up and head inside. He headed into the galley to eat an apple, figuring Harry had gone off to bed, and headed downstairs to his own cabin, but ventured into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

While he was doing so, he heard Harry come into his cabin. “Louis?” Harry asked as Louis spit into the sink. “I’ve got a surprise for you.” Louis peered up into the mirror to see the smile creep up his face. He couldn’t imagine what sort of surprise Harry could possibly have for him, but he couldn’t wait. It was a sweet thought that Harry would get him anything at all. He wiped at his mouth with a towel and headed out of the bathroom to enter his little room, only to see Harry sitting at the foot of the bed, waiting patiently for him.

“Hi.” Louis greeted gently. “A surprise?” He asked as he looked around for his fuzzy jumper.

“Yeah. I’ve worked pretty hard on it. I think you’ll like it.” Harry said as Louis tossed clothes aside just to find it. It was a tiny bit chilly and he just wanted to be warm. He heard Harry suck in a deep breath, like he was nervous, and Louis thought that was silly because Harry shouldn’t have to feel nervous around him. He turned his head a little to look at Harry, giving him an encouraging smile before turning back to his clothes.

Nothing in the world prepared Louis for what he was going to hear. It came at him like a train, sudden and surprising, but there was no possible pain with it. All Louis felt was every enamored emotion he felt for Harry blossoming within him from his heart spread out through him, all the way to his head and down to his toes, and to the tips of his fingers. He paused in his actions at the very first line of a song he knew all too well coming out from Harry’s mouth behind him, flawless in pitch, soft and yet clear and strong. “ _It’s a little bit funny, this feeling inside_.”

He found the soft, fuzzy, pale blue jumper of his and turned around to face Harry, unable to imagine the look on his face at the moment. He pulled the jumper on slowly, but looked at Harry, who smiled with his eyes and his dimples and those cute, perfect, bright white teeth of his. Louis could feel his face shift into tranquil happiness as well, his eyes crinkling at the sides with fondness. He didn’t know how or why Harry was singing this song, but Louis didn’t care. It was undoubtedly the best surprise he’d gotten. He was impressed, too, that Harry had learnt this song however he did without Louis picking up on it. All on his own.

Louis was a romantic. He was fucking sappy. He would deny it if anyone called him out on it, but to himself, he entirely was. His smile disappeared slowly, hearing Harry’s rich, honey-like voice serenading him what was undoubtedly his most favorite song in the world. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to smile. It was because he was looking at Harry, admiring just how fucking beautiful he was. Inside, out, human, merman. Harry was the definition of divine and light. He was filled with the strongest emotion in the world. 

Maybe it was because he was overwhelmed at the gesture that he at first thought couldn’t possibly be _for_ him, but it was, because Harry had said it was a surprise for _him_. Maybe it was because Harry’s jade eyes were shining and his dimples were out with his smile, singing like he was born to do it. Maybe it was because he could hear and feel his heart pounding through his body and he wanted to cry. It was so much and he loved feeling _this_. Loved _this_. Loved this song, and… and Harry was singing it, above all else, to him.

“ _I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind, that I put down in words,_ ” Louis heart skipped, stopped, swelled, did everything it possibly could in just a second. He had to be having a heart attack. Harry looked up at him with that smile and Louis, well, Louis hadn’t exactly been aware he had moved closer to him until he was close enough to touch him. 

He lifted a hand up to cradle his jaw. Harry closed his eyes slowly and his smile softened as he leaned his face into Louis’ hand. He wrapped his own hand around Louis’ wrist and Louis’ skin was on fire from that small touch. When Harry opened his eyes, he looked completely blissful. ‘Breathtakingly beautiful’ wasn’t an exaggeration when it came to Harry Styles. “ _How wonderful life is…_ ” Louis rested his other hand against the side of Harry’s neck, looking into his eyes with an incredible gentleness. “ _Now… you’re in the world._ ”

They stayed like that as Harry sang carefully, but proudly. Louis hoped he wasn’t imagining it, but it seemed like Harry really sang with passion, like he felt the words he was singing, belting them out melodically, with a sweet vibrato filling the air between them. Their eyes danced with pure emotion, bits shimmering, and they never looked away from each other. Louis caught himself smiling a few times when Harry sang, nodding him along. He was so, so, so proud he learned the song all on his own, on a less personal note. He mouthed the words along with Harry, but clamped his mouth shut at a particular line that had his stomach fluttering, his heart pounding even faster, heat rising in his cheeks. “ _So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do._ ” Louis wondered if he was breathing, feeling anxious anticipation swarming inside of him. “ _You see I’ve forgotten if they’re green or they’re blue. Anyway the thing is what I really mean, yours are the sweetest eyes I’ve ever seen._ ”

There was literally nothing in this world, suddenly, other than Harry Styles. He didn’t know where they were, nor did he care. It was just them two. Harry sang and that voice, those words hugged him so warmly. Louis let out a shaky breath as Harry slowly drove the song to its end. He didn’t want the song to end. He didn’t, because then, he would have to say something and Louis was terrible with words on any given day. At the moment, Louis couldn’t even remember what a toothbrush was called if he tried to recall it. All that mattered was Harry and how good Harry was to him. His mind swam with every effort Harry put into saving him, keep him safe, and it was too much.

He understood why some things happened once but not again for a while. He understood why some things had to wait. He understood it now because when they did happen when they had to, it was everything. Louis’ eyes darted across his face for a moment, and it was a moment of silence in which all that could be heard were the waves from outside… and it was just them. Harry’s eyebrows quirked and he asked some stupid, irrelevant question. _How’d I do?_ But Louis was so gone for him that he answered by crashing his lips onto Harry’s, his eyes fluttering shut as he melted into it embarrassingly fast.

Harry’s lips were as pillowy as he remembered, almost unbearably soft. He tasted sweet and salty, but was warm and enticing. Harry’s arm looped around his slim waist as he responded with such tenderness that Louis wanted to cry. They pulled away slowly, though only a little, enough so their lips ghosted against each other. Louis opened his eyes slowly, seeing Harry gazing right at him. He let out a soft, stuttering breath as he moved, never looking away from those forest eyes, and sat on Harry’s lap with his legs on either side of him. Harry pressed his lips together into a tight line, his eyebrows furrowing as he shut his eyes tightly. 

The hand holding Harry’s jaw rested against his cheek and Louis ever so lightly brushed the pad of his thumb along the skin there. “Harry?” 

Harry opened his eyes but looked down before tilting his head and slightly sneering, like he was trying to fight something in his head before he came to a decision that he didn’t care. He met Louis’ eyes again before kissing him so hard and sudden that Louis’ eyes slammed shut and he sucked in a sharp breath, kissing him back. Harry’s hand left his wrist to thread through Louis’ hair on the back of his head and his other arm pulled Louis closer against himself. 

As much longing there was in their deep kisses, every slide of their lips was savory. Louis tilted his head and cautiously licked Harry’s bottom lip. Harry’s mouth opened the smallest bit and Louis pried it open, coaxing out a soft moan. Louis whimpered against him, though his mind was so buzzed he couldn’t tell if it was from Harry’s tongue massaging his own or feeling Harry’s fingers curling in his hair to tangle.

Both of Louis’ hands wrapped around the back of Harry’s neck. His mouth trailed down from Harry’s, slow and lingering as he kissed his chin and the skin under his sharp jaw. Harry leaned his head back for Louis and sighed out softly. Louis’ lips dragged along his neck and he sucked gently on the tender skin of his pulse point, pulling another soft moan from Harry. 

Harry lifted his head up a little and buried his face into the Louis’ neck, too, nipping at the skin and earning a pleased sigh, making Louis pause his movements to stutter out a hot breath, tickling Harry’s neck lightly. Harry softly laughed before sucking a bruise on Louis’ skin, his deep voice vibrating as he moaned against him.

There was a surge of heat running through Louis, causing the smallest ache to move. Louis worked his hips in small, experimental circles. He pulled his head back and looked down, seeing the slightest bulge tenting both of their crotches. Harry groaned, a sound that was deep and shot straight through Louis, all the way down to his toes. He pulled away from Louis to look at him. Louis bit his lip, feeling his heart drumming against his chest again and pulsing against his temples.

“Er… Lou, uh…” Harry licked his top lip, seeming confused, like he was trying to find the words to say. Louis stopped his movements and sighed gently, searching his eyes. To him, Harry looked unsure, and honestly, he could understand that. He _was_ a merman after all. The last thing he wanted to do was introduce _this_ to Harry so soon that it would have him be wary. “I don’t… I mean,” Harry’s hand rested up on Louis’ waist comfortably. Louis gave him a small smile. He knew. “Still learning about this… all below my waist, like… like… all the new things that come along with my human body. It’s… it’s a bit of getting used to. Especially when, like, I wake up sometimes…” The tiniest pink rose on the apples of Harry’s cheeks and Louis softly laughed. “But, yeah, no, I think you’re beautiful. The purple sunrise doesn’t compare.” That was too big a compliment on its own. Louis’ breath caught for a moment from shock. Harry couldn’t mean that… could he? “I'm just not… like… not ready for any of that right now, really.” He gave Louis an apologetic look and Louis wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tight. He felt Harry inhale deeply and sigh out in relief before sliding his arms around him, too.

“It’s ok, darling.” And it was. It really was. Harry tightened his arms around him and Louis arched up against him, returning the gesture. He felt comfortable and warm. “One step at a time. Literally.” He felt Harry giggle against his neck and it tickled him enough to make him softly laugh, smiling into Harry’s shoulder. “I liked the song, if you couldn’t tell.”

They broke into proper laughter and pulled away a little to look at each other, smiles filled with fondness on both of their faces, smiles so big because they both definitely _knew_ it wasn’t all in their heads. They liked each other. Harry kissed him deeply and Louis melted once more. It was just too hard not to. Harry was here with him now and it was so much, especially since Louis had been fighting with himself for the whole week to not kiss him. He should get some sort of gold medal for restraining—even if he ended up caving anyway. Harry’s lips were pink, full, and simply undeniably addicting to kiss. Louis didn’t want to stop, but he did, only a little.

“Can I tell you something?” Louis asked, voice gentle, and he pecked Harry’s lips slowly. Harry hummed and nodded before resting their foreheads together. “Something happened earlier.” With this way, there was nowhere else to look but down because Harry’s eyes were right there in front of him. His eyes softly widened before Louis continued. “When I was trying to use the compass. To point home. I mean—by the way, I was playing with your compass earlier.” Harry laughed. Louis’ lips lifted in a smaller smile before parting, and suddenly, he couldn’t say it. He couldn’t. What if it was too much? Although, that had to mean something. Surely it did, right? None of this could be some sort of coincidence now. He looked down and licked his top lip nervously.

“What happened?” Harry asked. It was all Louis needed to meet his eyes again. God, Harry was so, so lovely. His eyes were curious, patient and alight with a peaceful happiness Louis had only seen one other time. He gave Louis a reassuring grin. It was now more than enough for Louis’ nerves to ease away. It wasn’t like he was proposing or something, Christ.

“It kept… kept pointing to you, Haz.” Harry blinked and his eyes widened for real, surprised. He let out a soft huff, like he couldn’t believe it, and Louis kissed him lightly before resting his head on Harry’s shoulder, only to feel Harry’s arms wound around him more. Harry pressed his forehead to Louis’ shoulder, too, and Louis grinned when Harry kissed it. “I mean…” he paused, trying to find the words to get out what he _did_ mean, to elaborate on that. “It’s a little… it’s a bit true, isn’t it?”

“ _It’s a little bit funny, this feeling inside_ ,” Harry sang, and Louis laughed against him. “Louis I’m… I love that I’m your home.”

“Home away from home.”

They could kiss. They did kiss, soft and chaste, hard and deep, kissing each other like they were fragile, kissing each other like they were put on the earth—and ocean—just to collide and kiss each other only, fitting perfectly like synchronizing puzzle pieces. If Louis was so terrible with words, it was a good thing he could do this now. He wanted to say things he simply couldn’t find the words to even closely sound coherent with into every drag of their lips. Louis simpered against him and Harry giggled, pecking his lips before holding Louis tightly and lying on his back on the bed.

“Do you want to sleep here again?” Louis asked, lying snugly on top of him. He let his thumb trace Harry’s lower lip and glanced up to his eyes. “It was comfortable to be next to you. Safe. I mean. You don’t… have to, of course.”

Harry was quiet for a while, like he was thinking about it. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked. Louis regretted it immediately, but Harry swallowed before giving a slow, affirmative nod. “I do. Yeah. Sorry, erm…” he paused, looking up at Louis in a way that was simply heartbreaking. It looked like Harry almost wanted to cry, but he smiled again gently, pulling one of his hands to hold Louis’ cheek and brush his thumb against it. “I… I just…” Was Harry at a loss for words now? Louis leaned in to kiss him softly, trying not to think about his hips just itching to grind against Harry some more. “I didn’t think you liked me. Not really.”

Louis rolled off of Harry, lying on his left side to look at him. Harry faced him, too, smiling lazily at him. “Of course I did. Couldn’t you tell when I _didn’t_ push you off of me when you kissed me the day after we met?” Harry laughed and hid his face into the pillow, and god, Harry was the cutest, most endearing person in the world. He had these moments where he was unbearably hot and the next moment he could be like this. Louis liked him so much that it was impossible to think of anything else… until he did. His eyebrows furrowed at the question that had appeared in his head. “What’ll happen when we get back home? Don’t you have one more thing to do?”

Harry sighed at the seriousness and turned to look at him. “Have to go to Atlantis.” Louis raised his eyebrows and Harry chuckled. “You _definitely_ can’t see Atlantis.” That was sort of sad, too. Louis gave him a small shrug. “Unless you want to at least join me and wait like always? I always felt bad for making you wait like that.”

“I don’t mind. What? Do you think I can't honestly take on monsters on my own?” Louis asked, giggling.

“Well, there was last night. And you didn’t exactly have a choice in it.” Harry reminded him darkly. Louis’ smile slowly faded and he lowered his eyes from Harry. “Did you know what the terms of that quest was?” He shook his head. “They stole from me. They stole… the thing I most cared about… and… it just so happened to be you. I just… I had to get you back.” Louis stared at him and gulped, feeling like the emotion in Harry’s voice and eyes carried through to him. “I’m still so sorry about that. I mean, Louis... Louis... you drowned. You _really_ drowned.”

He knew. Of course Louis knew. He didn’t want to say it was _okay_ since it very well wasn’t. That happened and… god it was horrifying. The last thing Louis remembered before resurfacing was some ginormous, strong force pulling him down into the water, tugging at his gut and from his back. He remembered kicking and screaming in the water from the most terrifying creatures' face coming into his line of vision. He was going down fast, and when he thought to breathe, decided to make that nearly impossible conscious decision to _breathe in water_ , after being unable to hold it in anymore, it already didn’t hurt, but he wasn’t dead, just unmoving. “I know you’re sorry, Harry.” He sighed, inching a little closer. “But I’m okay now. Thanks to you.” Harry just barely opened his mouth to argue, and yes, yes, yes, Louis knew that if he wasn’t here, none of that probably would’ve happened, so Louis stopped him before he said anything to press their lips together. "I'm alive. I mean I'll always remember that. But..." He bit his lip, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. "Do you want to know the truth?" Harry nodded. "In my head... it... it almost felt like it didn't... happen... for real. Like... like it was more a dream—or, well nightmare—than something that really happened. Just a very vivid nightmare. One of the kinds that'll stick with me forever, but that's what it  _feels_ like now."

“Okay.” Harry whispered against him, his hands warm against the sides of Louis’ neck and his thumbs resting on his jawline. Louis hummed rather than nodding, their lips whispering together, eyes heavy and closed. Hushed little noises sounded from the back of their throats, Louis’ high and soft while Harry’s were deeper and vibrated against Louis’ mouth, making him smile and giggle, which was already a contagious thing between them both, and they pulled apart to laugh contently. Harry gave him a chaste kiss, then kissed his forehead, and sucked in a big breath to smile like the sun.

“Sleepy?” Louis asked, but mostly because he himself was sleepy. Harry nodded and Louis quickly shut his eyes and exaggeratedly snorted so hard it sort of hurt his nose. It was okay. Harry’s burst of a laugh was all worth it. Louis opened his eyes in time to see Harry clap his hands over his mouth to keep from laughing too much, too loud. "You all right there?" He asked, a hint of laughter in his amused tone.

Harry closed his eyes and hid his face for a moment again. "Go to sleep." He said, his voice shaking with a sad attempt of contained laughter. 

Louis rolled his eyes fondly. "Yes, yes, fine. Sleep." He whispered, his adoration for the man next to him evident in his voice now as Harry pulled his hands down to rest them against the side of his face between the pillows. "You sleep. You had a long week. Even if we did just wake up a couple of hours ago, but, who's really counting? All this timezone stuff. It's nighttime where we are now so we'll sleep."

"I could listen to you go on and on about timezones forever, Louis." Harry confessed with a yawn.

"And I could listen to you go on and on about how much you obviously love the ocean." Harry blinked, looking at Louis in surprise. "You can love the human world all you want, Haz. I know you love the ocean, too. You do." It was a little sad, too, because he knew this would be difficult. They would be difficult being together, but after this entire week, Louis was positive anything was possible. Harry made him believe that. "Goodnight, Harry."

Harry pulled one hand from under his cheek to take Louis' hand in his. Harry's longer fingers filled the spaces between Louis' so perfectly that Louis was happy to go to sleep with such a high, light feeling, which was such a contrast from the night before. He sighed happily and closed his eyes, just able to hear Harry whisper, "Goodnight, Louis." before he seeped into a dream where he had a fish tail, was in the water, and Harry was with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this was a lot, too! Some incredible sweet moments to add to the slow burn and finally they've kissed and they're happy! But some angsty and dangerous moments too and I will _never_ kill Louis Tomlinson off. Or Harry Styles for that matter. I apologize if that caused anyone any nervousness or anything worse, but that's over! I promise.
> 
> A heads up that I have to now write the next chapter and it will be the last chapter. It does not end on a happy note, but the next installment _will_ , so I hope many of you will stick around after the next chapter to see how the story continues.
> 
> If you liked any part of the story, want to yell at me for killing Louis for a few moments, want to scream about all the cute and romantic moments, or give me an extra kudos because you can only leave kudos once, I definitely think commenting would be your best bet. If you liked it, kudos would definitely help. I love reading your comments and seeing the little kudos number go up, they make my day. Thanks for looking!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry brings the kingdom back into hiding and is coronated, but knows it's time to tell Louis the truth, especially once they've decided when he was going to get married. There's no escaping this now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the next story and the ones after will have happy endings.
> 
> Friendly reminder that I do have a playlist of all songs mentioned so far [here](https://open.spotify.com/user/v4leeeee/playlist/4XeU7sCBEfWgGR9dmBzk21)!
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who's commented and gave me kudos, they make my absolute day.
> 
> Don't hate me too much!

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓  
**L**  
⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

He and Harry were together. Of course, Harry didn’t express that in so many words and Louis wasn’t going to assume something official like that, but they were very together right now. There was no denying that. They didn’t have to hide their soft smiles anymore, didn’t have to pull away from staring into each other’s eyes anymore, worry that their emotions weren’t reciprocated, or anything else that stopped them from holding one another. Louis felt so happy with it, too, and was definitely shocked—and yet not—that his mind was still up high on a blissful cloud nine from it all. Everything that had been building up between them had truly blossomed into something so lifting. Louis was so genuinely happy.

In the galley of the boat, Harry smiled against his lips, kissing him once, twice, a third time, and okay, another, and Louis laughed before kissing his cheek, slow and lingering. He felt Harry lean into the small touch before Louis pulled away, but rested his hands on Harry’s waist. “Now, get away from me.” Louis whispered, peering up at him with playful, fond eyes. “or I’ll throw you in the water. I need to make food.”

Harry laughed. “You couldn’t throw me in the water if you tried.”

Louis’ eyes narrowed. He was pretty sure he’d picked Harry up in his arms a day or so ago. “I beg to differ.” He raised an eyebrow and bit his lip to stifle a smirk. “Just because you’re taller doesn’t mean anything. The second you touch ocean water, you pop a tail out.”

“I think it does, actually. I could pick you up easier than you could pick me up, and if you tried, I could stop you easier than you could stop me. _Also_ , in another second after any salt water touched me, I can be on two legs again.” Harry tilted his head and laughed softly. “So, your point is…?”

Shrugging nonchalantly, Louis pulled his hands from Harry’s waist. He crossed his arms over his chest and gave him a challenging smirk. “Honestly, Harry, I’m impressed. You can talk the talk.” Harry knit his brows at him, looking confused. “Talk a big game, talk big, blah blah blah.” He shrugged as he turned around to walk off from Harry. Louis was just a little bit conceited about himself when it came to his appearance. That’s why his jeans worked so well for his arse. “That doesn’t mean you can walk the walk, fish boy.” He called back to Harry as he headed outside.

He heard Harry stomping behind him and broke into a run. As much as Harry adapted and had already gotten used to his _sea legs_ , he still had a lot to learn. Louis was actually very, very fast on his own and he’s been a human all his life, last he checked. Harry only appeared human every so often compared to him, so Harry didn’t know everything one could do.

Louis stayed right at the top of the stairs. He turned with his arms crossed to see Harry bounding over to him. Just in time before Harry got to him, Louis jumped and spun out of the way, and Harry tripped right into the water. Louis poked his head to look down the stairs as Harry rose up out of the water. “Louis!” Harry yelled as a mischievous cackle tumbled from Louis’ lips before getting to his feet.

“Oi oi!” Louis called back to him. Of course, Harry _was_ right. In a matter of moments, Harry was sitting up on the steps and drier than a desert, back to his warm clothes and feet. He turned his head to glare at Louis before standing up and sprinting over to him. The smile on Louis’ face faded. He hadn’t exactly thought past fooling Harry into going head first into the water. “Oh, shit.” He whispered to himself, turning to run, but Harry’s strong arms snaked around his waist quickly and easily picking him up. “Damn it, Haz!” Louis shouted, kicking aimlessly, but Harry had him, and that was that.

“You’re feisty.” Louis was about to say he liked to think he was more stubborn, but then Harry gasped excitedly and set him on his feet, still keeping his arms around him. “I think I owe you something.” Blinking with a quirk of his eyebrows, Louis turned his head to look up at Harry just as Harry rested his chin on his shoulder instead. “I think I promised you something along the lines of riding on a dolphin?”A smile formed on Louis’ face at his words. “And I’ll tell you what; if we go on a dolphin ride, we can stow this argument away for the day.”

Louis laughed softly, carefully turning around in his arms. Harry raised his head as Louis moved and smiled down at him. Reaching under Harry’s arms to hold the crooks of his elbows, Louis brushed his thumbs gently against the skin there soothingly. “‘Argument’, please. We were playing.”

“A playful argument, then. Which… I won, by the way.” Harry smiled like he was pleased with himself, like he was actually mentally giving himself a pat on the back. It was cocky and Louis couldn’t help liking the crookedness of that smile, which was just a little different from all the other types he’d come to know. He opened his mouth to tell Harry he was wrong—even if he technically wasn’t, but Louis wasn’t about to go ahead and admit that—when Harry kissed him quiet and insistent, which had Louis’ head spinning until Harry pulled back.

Louis swallowed and sighed shakily, but it was the kind of sigh that wasn’t nervous. He was more taken aback since he didn’t expect it. It was nice. Being kissed by Harry whenever was nice. His stomach was always fluttering now, too, but it was different. Before, it was as if the butterflies had been fluttering madly without anyone noticing they were batting their wings prettily. Now, someone did notice and knew it, too, and it wasn’t so disheartening to do so anymore. If anything, the butterflies in his stomach managed to flutter even harder, like they were proud of this feeling. 

“Dolphins, yes?” Louis asked, smiling up at him as Harry tilted his head, looking blissful. 

“Yes.” Louis pushed down into the floor of the bow to stand a bit taller and pressed a small kiss to his right dimple, which made Harry smile even wider and only made both of his dimples more prominent. He supposed he might be an affectionate guy. Maybe a little. Or maybe kissing Harry on his lips and on his face was just one of the sweetest things to do, something Louis found he just _liked_ to do. He couldn’t fathom how _happy_ and _unbelievable_ it was to be able to do this with Harry and know it was okay. Louis had never imagined that look in his eyes. It was always there and he’d always seen it. They were just unsure before. 

It was okay now.

Harry squeezed Louis affectionately before heading back into the water. “Hang on.” He said before disappearing under. Louis expected he was going to get the two dolphins to surface. But _really,_ now, did Harry think Louis couldn't swim? Of course he could. He could... he…

He had drowned, though.

Louis’ stomach twisted with uneasiness at the memory. It _was_ just a memory now. There was no doubt about that, but you just don’t get over something like that in a matter of days. He meant what he said when he said that it now felt like it was more of a memory of a nightmare, but it was also still too fresh. Louis licked his top lip and carefully sat himself on the top step, staring at the water that dragged against the boat, his mouth twisting with uncertainty.

In no time at all, Jackie and Evan popped their dolphin heads up at the foot of the stairs, crying out happily. “Hi.” Louis whispered, smiling as he carefully headed down the steps to get closer to them. “Look at you two.” He held his hands out to them both and they gently bumped their noses against them. “If I hop up on one of you, you won’t let me drown, right?” With another sound from them both, Louis took that as a yes. He would never get over the fact that _they_ understood him. Scientists would really have a field day if they saw and experienced everything Louis had.

Harry’s head popped out of the water and he swam in between the two dolphins so he floated just in front of the stairs, the boat stilling. “Do you want to?” He asked. Louis sighed. He _did_ want to and he definitely wasn’t afraid of the water or anything… he was just nervous. It was unfortunate because he’d never been at all doubtful about entering the water in his entire life. Harry looked at him sympathetically. “It’s okay if you don’t want to, Louis. We can always try having you ride up on one of them another day.”

Louis' response was immediate as he shook his head quickly. “No, no, I—no, come on. It’ll be fun. Dry me after?”

Harry's blinding smile returned. “Of course I will.” He extended a hand out towards him. Louis took it, breathing in and out slowly, but deeply. It was going to be okay. He had to just keep telling himself that. He had so much _protection_ around him right now. Louis would ultimately be okay. He had to be okay if he wanted to do this. “All right?”

“Mmhm.” Louis glanced up to meet Harry’s eyes for a moment before dipping his legs into the water. Whoever was in front of him—he was sure it was Evan—gently bumped his nose to his ankles gently. It made Louis smile. He felt like it was a small, reassuring gesture, and Louis really appreciated it. “Okay.” He sighed out, nodding surely.

“I’ve got you, Lou.” Harry promised, he, squeezing his hand. Louis smiled at him as Evan disappeared underneath him before turning around to appear in between his legs, no longer facing him. “Hop down.” Harry said, and Louis did, letting his other hand reach onto the rubbery dorsal fin of the dolphin. Louis let out a deep, shocked giggle at the slight buoyancy of the creature underneath him and the water lapping around him. His eyes rose up to look at Harry, a surprised smile on his face. “You good?”

“I think so.” He said, sliding his hand from Harry’s to also hold onto the dorsal fin. Just then, Jackie came up from under Harry. He easily grabbed onto her dorsal fin, too. Maybe Louis imagined it, but the two dolphins momentarily looked at each other and made small noises. He glanced up at Harry and received an amused eye roll in return. “What’d they say?” Louis whispered.

Harry smiled bashfully. “Nothing! Nothing.”

There would be a day where Louis wouldn’t act without thinking. That day was not today. He bit his lip and carefully reached down into the water to splash Harry. Harry only raised an eyebrow at him, looking so terribly unimpressed before a tiny whirl of water lifted up into the air and drenched Louis in a matter of seconds. 

Louis’ eyes shut slowly and he nodded as he spit out water he got into his mouth. “I had that one coming.” Louis pointed out hopelessly.

“Huh, I hadn't noticed.” Harry mocked him. Louis almost reached down to splash him again, but restrained himself. It was pointless to do so. “So, when you’re done trying to best me when you obviously can’t—“

“Oh _come on_ , Harry. I could beat you in a race, I’m just on your turf now. Don’t act like you completely win at everything now.” Louis shot at him, grinning. They both chuckled quietly. It was nice to banter a little bit. It certainly had Louis forgetting he was at all nervous about being in the water. He still was, but it certainly lessened knowing he felt comfortable and safe with Harry and the dolphins at his side. “Okay, so, let’s do… do this, then, yeah?”

Harry nodded. “All right, hang on. And, I suppose I should tell _you_ this because you’re a sad little human who _has_ to breathe in through their nose.” Louis raised his eyebrows at Harry, giving him a look that he hoped simply _dared_ Harry to say something else about how human he was. Harry laughed warmly at the momentary silence as he looked at Louis. “I’m poking fun. I mean, like, you should probably hold your breath if he ever dives down.”

Louis’ eyes widened. “If he _what_?”

“I promise you're safe. Just be… I don’t know, alert.” The look Harry gave Louis was more serious and promising. “Like I said, I mean, we don’t… we don’t have to do this thing now.”

Louis shook his head. “No, come on. Let’s go.” He could do this… even if his heart _was_ beating terribly fast from the anticipation of just about everything. He nodded surely at Harry, who then whistled. It echoed through the air and faded off, but all Louis knew now was that he was rushing forward and turning. The yacht was back to moving, but it was slower than before. As Evan pulled him forward quickly, the water surrounding him formed tiny waves, splashes and bubbles from being interrupted. 

He stiffened immediately when Evan swam around the two sharks, feeling like his heart had jumped into his head for a second, but he sighed out calmly when the dolphin swam over in front of the boat. Harry was right beside him on Jackie and they were going steady. “How are you doing?”

He was… okay. “I’m fine.” Louis said, his voice raising a little to overpower the splashes from the two dolphins. It was actually nice. The water wasn’t too cool, and by now Louis was used to the temperature anyway. He felt secure against the dolphin, felt like he had every reason to trust him. He _had_ known Evan (and Jackie) for as long as he knew Harry, of course. They were the messengers for their communication, after all. 

Sometimes, like now, Louis felt like he had dolphins for pets, too.

“Good, because that was nothing!” Harry shouted gleefully. Before Louis could ask what he meant, Evan was pulling him forward again, but much, much faster, speeding off forward. Choppy splashes brushed up against Louis from the speed and Louis, after coming down from the shock, took the actual rushing feeling and let it fill him up. His smile returned, bright and genuinely elated, and he laughed.

He looked over at Harry, whose dimpled smile had made a gorgeous appearance. Harry looked over at him and smiled even more before Jackie suddenly dipped low under water and pulled Harry down with her.

_Oh_.

Evan underneath him whistled high and Louis took that as a warning. He opened his mouth to suck in as much air as he could and closed it, holding his breath, right before he saw the ocean water coming closer and closer to him before it slammed into his face. He closed his eyes tightly and felt his body moving in the water, holding onto Evan’s dorsal fin even tighter as he pulled him forward. He was rigid, waiting for the dolphin to resurface, but it didn’t happen. He was just being dragged along through the ocean, and he didn’t do anything until he heard a very watery, but english voice speak to him.

“Open your eyes, Louis.”

Louis’ eyes opened wide. Immediately, he ignored the sting from the salt water. He almost gasped out loud, but his instinct not to breathe kept him from doing so. He didn’t know where to look. Everything was vibrant and colorful. Every type of ocean documentary suddenly doesn’t do its beauty justice. The screen didn’t capture its radiance as perfectly as it should’ve. What Louis saw was magnificence personified in ocean life and habitat. As Louis looked around, he knew it was something he would never, ever forget seeing in his mind. It was the biggest contrast from being dragged down into the abyss during the middle of the night.

This was _beautiful_.

It was as if time went in slow motion just so Louis could see everything. A school of small fish passed him quickly. He saw different shapes of rocks, coral, and sponge with sea plants covering them or branching off of them. A large shadow covered the light from above him momentarily, causing Louis to look up curiously. One of Louis’ hands clamped over his mouth as he peered up to see large sea turtles swimming slowly above him. Looking forward again, he saw a sting ray swooping about peacefully and fishes fluttering around, looking far too tranquil without a care in the world. He couldn’t _believe_ the life of color he was seeing. He was sure that heaven had to be this divine. Bubbles floated up nearly all around him and he smiled at a few bunches of sea anemones gliding back and forth. There were bunches of smaller fish swimming around him. One particular frilly fish circled Louis’ head before twirling around itself and swimming off. Jellyfish steered clear, but they were pink and looked aesthetically pleasing.

Harry next to him called for Louis’ attention. His voice was still watery, but Louis could hear. He looked over to see Harry baring his teeth into a large smile and _a small fish swimming rapidly against his teeth_.

Louis did the same, feeling his chest tighten from the need to breathe, and a couple of thin, dark fishes swam up to clean his teeth quickly. It was too soon that he felt the _need_ to breathe, the feeling seeming to crush him slowly and slowly, making Louis lightly pat on Evan and squeeze his dorsal fin nervously. It was enough for him, apparently, because Evan was shooting up to the surface just after that. Louis let out a large breath and sucked in air quickly after that. 

He was okay.

When Louis regained most of his breathing to something calmer, he looked over to see Harry smiling at him and looking at him the way he did that had Louis’ stomach fluttering madly. “Harry, the ocean is…” if the ocean was personified by a person, it would be Harry hands down. Harry was divinity and beauty, and it was so much that the ocean simply reflected who he was. “It’s gorgeous. I…” He wished he could stay underwater more. He _hated_ that he wasn’t like Harry, able to just go between two worlds however he pleased.

It was all apparently evident on his face. Harry frowned. “But you’re upset.”

Louis shrugged shyly. “I didn’t… like I knew, y’know, that the ocean was that gorgeous. It’s one thing to see it on the TV or on your phone or something like that, but…” He swallowed, replaying the wondrous world he’d just seen for a few seconds. Had that _really_ lasted a few seconds? He knew, he just _knew_ there was simply so much _more_ to it. Louis looked straight ahead thoughtfully. “I mean I feel sort of stupid, really, because I could always, like, go diving with a scuba tank and stuff, but, like… I liked _this_. I liked being just me and being in here and seeing it with nothing… weighing me down or somethin’, like…” Louis licked at his top lip, doing his best to really find his point. “So it’s like… I don’t really have an excuse because I could technically stay in the water longer if I had that equipment and all but it’s… I don’t think it’d be the same as this. After _you_ , after everything, y’know, I’ve learned from you, it’s like…” He laughed sadly, bitterly. “I guess I’m you now. You wanted to be able to… to wear nice shoes. Nice clothes. To run. Be free like that. I… I wouldn’t mind wanting the same but… just the opposite.”

The ocean didn’t have to be horrifying. It never was other than that night. Right now only reminded him that it was _great_. Harry looked at him in a way that was far too empathetic. Of course he understood. No one would ever understand something like this but him. “We’ve got time, Louis.” Harry voiced. It was in a way that said he knew and wished he could help, but he pointed out the tiniest bit of positivity in Louis’ momentary sadness.

Louis’ eyes lowered for a second before he nodded. “I know.” He gave Harry a big smile before sucking in a deep breath. The water engulfed him once more as Evan dipped down, swooped in a low arc as Louis looked around in awe, and then rose back up. It gave him a second enough to breathe and hold his breath again before Evan was back under again, and there was an exciting thrill from being reminded of being on a rollercoaster. Louis peered around _everywhere_ he could before he rose up every single time. It was enough for now. Louis was grinning from ear to ear, laughing with pure joy. Beside him, he could hear Harry laughing, too.

He didn’t want it to end.

“Louis?” Harry asked when the dolphins carried them through the water casually. Louis looked over at him and raised his head from laying it against Evan’s rubbery skin. “Do you want to go home now or after Atlantis?”

“I can wait for you. I don’t mind.” Louis said with a shrug. “After all, I’ve never even been around the Mediterranean yet. Might as well check that off my list. If that’s all right with you?” He asked, hopeful that it was. “And then I can get out of your curly hair after being such a nuisance this entire past wee—“

Harry was close to him, having had let go of Jackie at some point or another and was swimming right next to him. He placed a hand on Evan to still him and held Louis’ cheek, pressing their lips together. It had happened so fast that Louis didn’t even realize everything stopped, and didn’t even care. It seemed Harry _really_ liked taking Louis by surprise. Louis didn’t mind, humming against his mouth softly before Harry pulled away. “You never say that again, yeah? You’re everything to me _but_ a nuisance.” Louis’ eyes crinkled happily. “And by the way, these are the Pillars of Hercules on either side of us now. You’re _already_ in the Mediterranean.”

There was no hiding his fondness. He tilted his head slightly, simply enamored by Harry. It was simply irrevocable. He looked behind Harry briefly to see the bit of land far, far behind him and looked behind himself to see the other side, too. So, Harry was right, but only half right. Louis looked back at him with his tilted head, looking from Harry’s eyes to his lips, then to his eyes. He had never seen such eyes in his life. He would never get over them. “I think you mean the Straits of Gibraltar, babe.”

The darling apples of Harry’s cheeks warmed to a soft rose and he scrunched his nose at Louis sweetly. “Same difference.”

Louis looked up at the sky as if he was thinking before shaking his head. “If you say so.” He laughed, only for his eyes to widen. “Oi! What’s with you asking me if I want to go home or not if we’re already in the Mediterranean?”

“I just wanted to make sure! We can always turn around, it’s not hard. Especially since we’re so close to your home.” Louis beamed. He was right. They _were_ close. As much fun as Louis had—and some moments of fear, of course—he definitely wanted to get home. He missed his cat, missed the sand, missed his home, missed his own bed, missed his _bike_ , even. Missed Zayn, missed his family. It would be good to get home. “I’ve got to get something, actually.” Harry said, frowning. “Like, underwater.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll head back up onto the boat. I sort of feel bad for this guy anyway.” He cooed, rubbing his hand on Evan’s head and earning a squeak from him. The two dolphins swam all the way back behind the boat and Evan stopped at the foot of one of the stairs. Louis pulled himself up onto the steps. He sat on the bottommost step and criss crossed his legs so they didn't touch the water. “Now, ahem, dry me.” Louis demanded, softly laughing at himself. Harry scoffed and swam up to him as Louis stretched out his hand for him to take.

Harry stared at Louis, mockingly amused at him. “You’re going to order _me_ around like that?” He asked. “Me? Future king of the Atlantic? Really, Louis? You actually have the audacity to do such a thing?”

Louis hummed lightly and wiggled his fingers. “It’s been a whole few seconds and I’m still wet. Do you hate me?” 

“Shut up.” Harry said, his voice laced with laughter as he slid his fingers up Louis’ palm. His hands were much, much bigger than Louis’, and Harry made it an obvious fact by curling the tops of his fingers over Louis’ before lacing them together. Louis’ expression softened from his feigned pompousness, closing his fingers over the back of Harry’s hand. Harry turned their joined hands so the back of Louis’ faced Harry. He pulled it down a little to press a slow, lingering kiss to the skin, and Louis was on fire, or maybe that was just him immediately drying from the touch, or maybe both. 

“I think I’m supposed to do that. Don’t people do that to royals? Or do royals do that to others, too—Actually, you’re entirely right in doing this. I’ll shut up.” Louis bit his lip, shaking his head at himself.

Harry smiled up at him and kissed the back of his hand once more before pulling his away. “I'll be back in a moment, then I’ve got to jet off again, and then… and then we’ll get you home. Hmm?” Louis nodded, mouthing a small, ‘okay’, before Harry disappeared underwater. Jackie and Evan returned to their side by side positions as the yacht sped off faster than anything. Louis got to his feet and walked to lay down on one of the sofas of the cockpit lazily.

Things were good.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

**H**

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

“ _Harry_!”

Before Harry could look to see who was calling for him—which was stupid on its own, actually, because the voice was far too familiar—he was being crushed into a hug by his sister, Gemma. Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around her, too. Their upper bodies swayed left and right affectionately. “S’good to see you, Gemma.” Harry voiced, kissing the side of her head. “What’re you still doing here? I thought everyone was in hiding. At least that’s what I _saw_ in the mirror.” He said, pulling back to get a good look at her. “Come on, can’t stay long. Gotta get the scepter, then head to Atlantis, make sure all of our kingdom’s hidden and capable with its magic once more…”

“Harry Edward Styles will you _please_ take a few gilly breaks?” Gemma asked, a phrase that was the equivalent to ‘taking a breather’. She put her hands on his shoulders. Harry sighed. “Relax. Calm down. You’re back, you’re not dead, and that’s what matters. Now, none of _us_ have to die and I won't have to make a complete and utter fool of myself being the first princess in centuries to do the quest.” That was true. If Harry had ultimately failed and died, Gemma would’ve had to have gone and done it herself. “But you did it!” Harry gave her a smile that was bordering on sweet and impatient. Gemma scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Come on, then. I’ll give you all of the updates that fancy mirror of yours didn’t show you.”

Gemma told him that the merfolk had all been sent to hide in deep trenches throughout the Atlantic. It had taken a lot of time to do so, but having royal staff throughout the ocean was handy for these types of reasons. _Everyone_ had to be protected. Blue whales were especially needed to transport bunches of merfolk away safely. The only places that weren’t evacuated were the staff in the main and summer palaces, and the borders of smaller sections of the Atlantic—like the seas, gulfs, peninsulas, and bays.

“What about the trench near Puerto Rico?” Harry had asked, trying to seem as nonchalant as ever, except that was sort of too specific and random.

Gemma gave him a strange look. “Erm, of course? There _are_ merfolk there, too.” 

Oh. No problem. “When exactly did everyone go into hiding?”

“Maybe a day ago officially.” _Phew_. Still, Harry had to hand it to the merfolk community. Maybe it was because he was on his quest and he wasn’t supposed to have _any_ possible merperson helping him, but he hadn’t seen any merperson at all during his travels. Hopefully none have seen him, either.

“So everyone’s safe?” Harry asked, only to receive an apologetic look from her. “Oh no, what’s happened?”

“Your personal guard, Liam Payne? Well… maybe you’d be better off asking _him_. Also, mum misses the living,” she made a perfect dolphin sound come out of her mouth, swearing. “out of you.”

Harry laughed so hard that it had come out nervous. He clamped his hands over his mouth, in completely disbelief. “ _Gemma_! You can’t say that!”

She rolled her eyes. “Harry, for Poseidon’s sake! No one’s even here except for a few guards, servants, and mum. Somewhere…” She waved her arm around. “Somewhere ‘round this big, old place. Wondering when her son will come back from the _war_ , dramatic and all and yet contrasting herself about how you’ll _definitely_ be successful. She can’t choose.”

The two royal siblings laughed as they swam to the throne room. Two, very tall and thin thrones sat in the middle of the top of the circular room. The tops of the two thrones were large and fanned out for seating. In between them was the [scepter](http://dulfy.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/gw2-pact-fleet-scepter_thumb.jpg), which was completely dull in color and not at all impressive at the moment. The entire thing was made from rare items like tranquil shards, dusk gems, mythril stones, and the like that humans would never be able to find. It had been synthesized by the Nautical Mage eons ago. The only thing that was missing was the orichalcum in the middle at the top of the staff. There was an empty hole right for it, surrounded by elegant forged swirls.

Harry headed over to it, reaching out tentatively before grasping it. “Okay. I should… I should go, then.”

“Absolutely _not_.” 

Spinning around at an oceanic voice he could only love infinitely, his momentary surprise softened into a smile that said, _I’ve missed you_. Harry didn’t even have to swim forward before his mother’s arms wrapped around him, squeezing tightly, and she peppered his face with kisses. “Do you know how worried I was?” She asked, pulling away to hold his face and get a good look at him. Harry always felt smaller when she did this, but he smiled even more. Royal or not, king or prince or commoner, he would always love his mother and be her son. “How are you? Are you hungry? Do you need to sleep?”

“Mum!” Gemma laughed, hovering beside him. “He’s got stuff to do! He can’t take a break.”

His mother huffed. “ _Well_ , no one needs to know _that—“_

Harry’s eyes widened in surprise. “That’s mean to say! All those merfolk hiding in trenches waiting for me to hide the kingdom again and restore its magic. That’s horrible!” He knew his mother was only kidding and just _being a mother_ , but it was just a little shocking she could even joke about that. “I’ll be back soon, anyway. All my trials are done. I’ve just…” He waved the scepter in his hand. “Got to take care of this now. And then I’ll… I’ll be home.”

“And then you’ll just have _more_ stuff to do.” His mother said. Any trace of a smile faded from Harry’s face. He lowered his eyes from her, dread ghosting through the pit of his stomach. “All right, love?” She asked, pulling Harry’s face back up to look at her. Harry nodded, doing his best to give her a reassuring smile. It didn’t reach his eyes. He knew that.

He glanced over at Gemma, who gave him a sad smile of her own. Harry nodded again and took his mother’s hands in his. “Of course I’m all right.” He had to be, of course. _Now_ he did. He was to be king, and he was back needing to reassure everyone that everything would be okay. From the corner of his eye, he could see Gemma giving him an eye roll. Harry gave his mother his best smile. He could be courteous and persuasive. It was all he was taught to do since he was born, to _act_ this part. “I want… to be a promising king. I want to be a king who brings peace and I’ll be willing to do that no matter what it takes.” It was a perfect white lie. That was how it went, after all, right? He had to twist his words so he _could_ believe it, so it was _technically_ true. “I’m just—a lot’s happening, like… lately. So.”

“Oh, of course, of course, of course, dear. I’m just so happy you’re alive.” She kissed the top of his head and Harry softly chuckled. 

“Trust me. So am I.” He swam around her, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “Are Liam and Niall off duty?” He asked, remembering he’d specifically asked the Lord Commander to give them a well deserved vacation.

Gemma groaned in answer, making Harry turn around to face her confusedly. “Yes and no.” His mother politely laughed as the two of them looked at each other before she swam off. Gemma hurried to Harry’s side and pulled Harry along by his freer arm. “You’re gonna want to see _this_.” She said as they swam up towards Harry’s room.

Poseidon, what’ve they _done_?

Gemma lifted the plant curtain in front of the coral doorway of Harry’s room to reveal Liam and Niall sprawled out over Harry’s furniture. Liam was sleeping against the small edge of the windowsill, the lower half of his tail under it, swishing lazily. Niall on the other hand was right up on top of the closed bivalve shell of his bed, looking actually _dead_ with his arms thrown this way and that way and his mouth opened—which was so very unnecessary, really.

“Either they _really_ missed you or they thought you were going to die and took you room.” Gemma told him. Harry stared into the room with wide eyes. “But technically they _are_ off duty.” He felt his sister clap his shoulder before swimming away, leaving him to deal with his two very tough… loyal… _guards_.

Harry shoved them both off of their platforms to wake them up. Liam was sinking down outside from the window and Niall woke with a sudden jolt. When Liam hurried back into the room, they both stared at him and Harry gave them very unimpressed looks. “Harry!” They shouted before swimming to hug him from both sides.

Liam evidently spent too much time with Niall since Harry had been gone. He knew this would happen.

“Okay, both of you,” Harry hissed, trying to sound irked, but he only smiled warmly and hugged them back. “Why… aren’t you two enjoying your time away from here? Not that I exactly mind. Like… you do _you_ , you know? But… I’m a little perplexed as to why you wouldn’t actually head off to your homes at _least_.” They carefully pulled away from him. Harry raised his eyebrows at Niall. “I mean, this would’ve been an ideal time to head back to Irish waters, don’t you think?”

Liam chimed in. “First of all, we're happy you're safe.” Niall nodded eagerly. “Second of all, let us explain.”

“Yeah, he’s got a lot to tell you.”

Was this about Liam crossing Zayn’s path? Harry couldn’t _know_. So, he put on a confused face and swam over to the top of his bivalve, sitting down on it. His two best friends sat on the floor at his tail and curled their own underneath themselves. “What’s the matter?” Harry asked. It didn’t _exactly_ explain why they were _here_ , right? “I honestly am genuinely confused as to why you’re still here. In my room, no less. You’re lucky you’re my best friends. This wouldn’t fly with anyone else.”

“I was caught.” Liam blurted out quickly. Harry turned his head to him. “It was—I was just roaming about. You know I had a lot of time on my hands, so I decided why not? I didn’t know it was unsafe. I came across a bunch of rockfish and the next thing I know, we're all squished together because something’s engulfed us.” Harry frowned. He could only imagine how scared Liam was. He wasn’t sure if that had ever happened to a merperson. 

Harry looked over at Niall. “Has that ever happened before?” He asked.

Niall shrugged. “If it has, we don’t know, do we? I expect if merfolk have ever been caught it’s… it was a final… thing. Liam for all we know’s the first merperson someone’s caught _and_ let go of.”

Harry shrugged, glancing back at Liam. “Yeah, Zayn doesn’t like seeing ocean life being trapped like that gasping for ai—”

_Whoops._

Niall covered his mouth with one hand. He could practically feel both the shock and the secondhand embarrassment Niall was feeling for him. Would that make it reversed secondhand embarrassment? Harry felt it on his own enough. He looked up at the ceiling, feeling Liam’s eyes glowering up at him with disbelief and curiosity. 

“Wait, no, no,” Niall said, pointing a finger at Harry. “ _No_ , you said his name was _Louis_ , not Zayn. How many humans do you _know_?”

“You’re not serious.” Liam said slowly. Harry hummed lightly and nervously at the back of his throat before it came out as a tiny, echoing shriek, his hands flying to cover his mouth despite him never had even opened it in the first place. Merfolk didn’t speak that way, or at _all_ like humans. 

Harry ran his hand through his hair before trying to shake it, but realized he was in the water and it simply did not do that here. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t say anything. That wasn’t me. Someone’s saying something.”

“Behold the future king.” Niall joked. Harry eyed him threateningly and he held his hands out in defense. 

Liam’s accusatory eyes were glaring Harry down. “Harry Styles, the First of His Name, and every other title you _have_ , I couldn’t care _less_ right now. Tell me _everything_ you know. Everything you have been keeping secret. _Now_.”

So, Harry told them both everything. He told them about the human, Louis Tomlinson, who had the brilliant little boats (“Ahh, I remember everything now.” Niall had said, which had earned him an angry look from Liam). He told them about the purple sunrise with Louis. He told them he’d given Louis a wish that benefited them _both,_ but he wouldn’t say what. He told them he’d been keeping contact with Louis for some months through bottled messages, that they grew close. He told them about eating sea salt ice cream (Niall had said it sounded delicious even if he had no idea what it could possibly be). Harry also told them Louis had been with him the entire voyage and that he and Zayn were best friends (“roommates, even.” Harry added. Liam’s eyebrows furrowed at this piece of information and Harry shrugged. “Just friends. I guess.” and Harry thought he saw Liam’s expression soften a little), and finally, Harry told him about the phone call Louis received from Zayn telling him about Liam.

What Harry didn’t expect was for Liam to turn the conversation over to him. This was about how Harry could possibly know who Zayn was at all, and who Louis was. He expected Liam to get angry again and lecture about how he should be more careful about where he goes and who he just outright speaks too, that humans shouldn’t be trusted since they’ve been fishing for ages and ages and ages, have been trying to find our world for ages and ages and ages. Liam didn’t say any of that. Liam didn’t even look angry anymore at all. Harry got a little worried with the look on Liam’s face, because Liam was just staring at him and Harry could feel a blush rising in his cheeks. 

Niall was looking at him the same, like they felt _bad_ for him.

“What?” Harry asked, looking between them both. “Stop looking at me like that! We’re talking about Liam,” he said, gesturing towards him. “who went through a traumatic event—“

“Have you told him you’re betrothed yet?”

Harry was at a loss for words. He was doing so very well in not thinking about that. It was going to happen soon now, too. He _knew_ that. Harry was just… so… so scared of what would happen. If they had to walk—and swim—away from one another because of this, Harry only wished it wasn’t with hatred or anger. Actually, he hoped that somehow, Louis would still want him in his life after he came clean with the truth.

His own silence was answer enough. “Harry, mate…” Niall said softly before shaking his head. “Look, I don’t… I don’t know about humans really but I don’t think they do well with this sort of thing. We don’t either, typically, but… I think humans suffer worse through them… so, you should tell him before it gets worse.”

“Before it’s too _late_ and you’re _forced_ to.” Liam added, his watery echo stern. “Humans are humans. They’re… they’re emotional I suppose. And… and maybe not all of them are what we’ve feared them to be. If he was a merman and you were with him and hadn’t told him… about your betrothal, honestly, I’d be telling you the very same thing right now.”

Niall nodded. “It’s just the decency of it all, or the courteous thing to do.”

Was it _really_ all written on his face? Was it that obvious that Harry had strong feelings for Louis? What had he even said? How did he _look_ when he said it? _How_ did he say it? Was it the way he said Louis’ name? Did he smile uncontrollably at the thought of him? What gave it away? He didn’t _mean_ to be so obvious. His friends know him better than anyone other than is family, he supposed, but… but that was a little too much.

Harry also wished they wouldn’t answer it with a truth bomb.

“Zayn’s a good human, Liam. It’s good you were caught by him and not someone else. Has nice… nice designs on his body and everything. Hates seeing fish struggle. Don’t know what else. The important thing is… you’re safe.” Harry answered slowly, completely evading everything they’d just said. Niall groaned and fell back onto the floor. Liam reached up to grip Harry's forearm comfortingly.

“You have to. If you care, and if he cares, you know you have to, right? And…” Liam gave him a sympathetic expression. “Even if you weren’t betrothed… he’s from the land… and we’re in the water. It couldn't possibly work. And you're not exactly a commoner with only _basic_ responsibilities, either, Your Grace.” 

Liam was right. Commoners would be able to go to the beach all they wanted to if they wished it. Harry, on the other hand… was bound by his title. His title, his duty was _everything_. He had to rule an entire ocean, for Poseidon’s sake. He wasn’t someone who was allowed the luxuries of rest, and if he was, they were rare and short.

Harry had to tell Louis. He couldn’t be with him. It was impossible in every possible way, and it wasn’t just because of the betrothal. It wasn’t like Harry could spend time on land all the time, and Louis couldn’t be in the ocean the way he wanted to. When that realization _really_ sank into Harry's gut, he felt it pulling him down and down and down. Every light emotion he felt about Louis was suddenly so tainted by a bitter truth. 

His jaw clenched as he looked down at his lap. It was… it was really unfortunate that his heart chose to care for this person he couldn’t have.

Harry looked up slowly and decided he needed to get that old mindset again. He needed to harden his heart once more, swallow every bit of emotion and not let it display on his face. He could. He would. He will _always_. “Happy you’re okay.” He said quickly, rising up. “I’ve got to get my powers and set the magic throughout the Atlantic again. I shouldn’t have wasted any time.”

“Hey, come on, Harry—“ Niall began.

“Go on your vacation.” Harry cut off, his voice harsh and insistent as he stopped at the doorway. “Go home.”

Liam and Niall stared at him worriedly. Before they could say anything else, Harry had vanished, and couldn’t believe Louis trusted him. He didn’t deserve his trust.

He didn’t deserve Louis.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

Hardening his heart wasn’t easy around Louis. He should’ve known that, too, since Louis actually got him to finally, _physically_ mourn the death of his father. Louis was a miracle worker, even when he was _asleep_. Harry wanted to shake him awake a tiny bit, but also very well _didn’t_. He looked incredibly peaceful and soft. It swelled Harry’s heart with fondness, casting away any bitterness he had from the conversation he had earlier with Liam and Niall. 

“Lou.” Harry whispered, gently shaking him awake by the shoulder. Louis sucked in a deep breath that could only belong to the softest thing in the entire world. He exhaled with a small, sleepy noise. Louis was _killing_ him just by being himself. He tried not to smile, but there it was, coming out as Louis’ unforgiving sea eyes opened to look up at him. Louis hummed, holding Harry’s forearm, his fingers brushing along his skin gently and causing the strangest set of goosebumps to appear on his arm.

Oh, yeah. Harry’s hand was still on Louis’ shoulder.

“Usually I try to kill people when they wake me up.” Louis began. Harry laughed softly, remembering the rude awakening at his and Zayn’s flat. “They tend to actually end up killing me instead, but _you_ …” As soft as Louis’ eyes were, looking down at him, they were piercing, an ocean that was truly yet to be explored. Harry could not for the life of him look away if he tried. “You’ve killed me a bunch of times before just by looking at me but this is the worst death I’ve received from you.”

Louis was saying _Harry_ was killing him? As if Louis should _talk_. Harry was probably much worse than him right now.

“I feel the same.” He said, though shakily. “Niall, he, er… he actually like gets into my bed and it’s a rude awakening just like that. And Liam… he pulls up the algae curtain and he’s like ‘Rise and shine’.” Harry scoffed. “Rise and shine my arse.”

“Oh, please.” Louis exclaimed quietly as he pulled himself to sit up against the arm of the sofa. They giggled for a moment before Louis was biting his lower lip, his eyes glancing from Harry’s lips to his eyes, and back to his lips, then back to his eyes, and then his lips. Louis had to stop going from soft and sleepy one second to making Harry stunned from the tiniest little things that made him feel new types of ways the next. He slid his hand up to grab the front of Harry’s shirt, pulling him closer, only for their lips to collide, and Harry let him. 

Harry shouldn’t let him. He shouldn’t do the same in return, but there he was, moving his mouth against Louis’, slow and tender, thinking that their lips fit so well. Merfolk _loved_ kissing their partners just about everywhere they could. Aside from entwining their tails, it was all they could do and it was the most beautiful thing to them. Kissing Louis made him feel like he could part the seas—and fine, fine, he _could_ , but it was that overall excitement and energy that made him feel so limitless in everything he could do. Kissing Louis made him feel like he was also entirely powerless, completely succumbing and forgetting so much of what he should and shouldn’t do because it was _Louis_.

As Louis’ pried his mouth open gently and let his tongue sweep in, Harry wondered if this was what drowning was like. He wondered if it was because he was endlessly falling and Louis was pulling him in so effortlessly. Harry knew, somewhere—at the moment, he had no _idea_ where and didn’t care to try to look—in the back of his mind, he should do his best to fight this. It would hurt Louis and it would hurt him, but Harry had certainly reached acceptance that it just wasn’t possible for him to think straight with him.

That was probably unhealthy.

And yet, it was all mostly because Harry wasn’t _telling him_.

“Lou, erm—“ He pulled back—which was an achievement on its own—but pecked Louis’ lips quickly to sort of make up for it. “I love spending time with you, you have no idea, but I’ve got to do this… thing.” He said, pulling up his other hand and waving the scepter in the air. Louis’ eyes widened at the sight. “Do you want to hold it?”

Apparently, he was still drowning and unable to break this.

“Yeah, of course. It’s gorgeous, what the fuck…” Louis whispered, carefully taking the scepter in his hands. He swung his legs to drop his feet onto the floor and set it on his lap, whispering a gentle, “Oh, wow…” in astonishment.

“I’m gonna grab my… my bag, thing.” Harry said, shaking his hair lightly to conceal the smile that once again formed on his face. Louis was officially the first human to touch a royal scepter. Louis was the first _everything_ so far in merfolk history and he couldn’t share that with anyone but his two best friends.

It was all… just… very _sad_ , really.

Harry headed into his cabin to grab his satchel very quickly. He should have Louis sent home. Yes, yes, yes, he was going to do that. There was really no reason he should be left to stay here and wait. He hurried back up to the cockpit and sat down beside Louis, who was still marveling at the scepter. Harry grabbed it from him with a lopsided smile. “I do think that’s mine.” He said with a laugh, putting his scepter into the satchel.

“Fine. It’s lovely, though.”

Harry nodded, looking down at it, but doing a double take. “Oh, Lou. I’m sorry, erm… I’m gonna need… that now.” He said, pointing to the necklace Louis still had around his neck with the deep blue gemstone. “I’ll need all five for this.”

Louis sighed audibly and reached around his neck to undo the hook before holding it out to him. Harry raised his palm under the necklace and Louis dropped it. “Taking everything from me already. It’s not nice.” He said softly. Harry laughed as he dropped the necklace into his satchel. “I like making you laugh. I like when you laugh so hard and you cover your mouth.”

“You do the same, but only when you laugh too much.” Harry pointed out, looking back at him. Louis opened his mouth, looking up at the sky before shrugging and nodding. “Yeah. You can’t even deny that one.” It was a sweet little trait of his. “Erm, Lou? I was thinking, right? I… I think… I should get these guys to taking you home. Or, as close as they can until you have to… to drive, like, on your own.” Louis’ face fell immediately. Harry quickly spoke up again. “I’m just saying that because, like, I’ve got to do this really fast and then I’ve got to head to the palace and do other… other stuff. But…” He smiled sadly, as if he was already apologizing. “I’ll come see you.”

“Will I have to wait three months until you do?”

Harry shook his head. “No. Promise you won’t. Will you be at the beach? What time of day would be best?”

Louis sucked in a deep breath and exhaled thoughtfully, humming along. “I think before sundown. I’ll definitely be there. Haven’t been at the shack in a week, after all, I’ve got to be consistent with my work now until summer really _does_ come to a close. I owe Carl that much. He works too hard on that beach in his old age.” He paused for a moment before leaning his side against the sofa, tilting his head. “When summer does end and the water gets too cold—or freezes, if it gets cold _enough_ —you won’t be here, right?”

Harry shook his head sadly. “No. Not until the end of winter _here_.“ Louis cast his eyes downward. Harry supposed it was a good thing that he was going to tell Louis the truth the next time he saw him. He didn’t know what to _say_ to this now. He couldn’t feed the lie. He couldn’t say he would be back soon after and that they could _see each other_ when it gets warmer. Harry’d already been cruel enough. The remorse for elongating the truth was killing him. “Hey,” Harry whispered, unable to stop himself from reaching out to cradle his jaw. Louis looked up at him through his long eyelashes, and Harry really wished they could both stay here a little longer.

Louis reached up to play with the ends of his curls. “Curly…” he smiled sadly, his hand coming up to cup Harry’s cheek. Louis’ palm was warm and Harry had to fight leaning his cheek into it. “I guess I’ll see you soon, then.” It then occurred to Harry he was probably never going to kiss Louis again, never look at him like this again, never going to feel Louis softly brushing his fingers on his skin or holding his face or playing with his curls in ways that had his heart ablaze. It didn’t matter if he’d leaned into Louis’ palm or not. It was just going to be over one way or another, as short lived as it was.

“See you soon.” He leaned forward, pausing for a moment, because he shouldn’t kiss him there on his lips. Harry quickly pressed his lips against Louis’ forehead, over his fringe, kept his lips there because that was it, and it wasn’t fair. He pulled back, seeing Louis’ eyes crinkle with a smile, and he had to get out of here _now_.

He got to his feet and walked over to the steps before diving into the water. The dolphins were playing under the boat and the sharks swam around lazily. The manatees roamed about without a care in the world and Harry had to demand so much from them that he felt _awful_. He whistled a command to take Louis back to the marina as much as they could, and they got to their positions at the sides and back of the yacht. Harry swam forward and lifted his head up to see Louis with his hands on either side of the stairs, looking down into the water.

“Good luck, Haz.” Louis told him.

Harry nodded with a small smile. “You too. I mean—“ He laughed at himself and heard Louis giggling. “Shut up. I’ll try and come by in a week, maybe, if that’s all right with you?”

Louis nodded happily. Harry wished he didn’t look it. “That’s all right with me, yeah. Now get out of here, will you?” He said, his nose scrunching ever so slightly with such a soft, fond voice. Harry wished Louis hated him already. That would make the inevitable much easier, and yet this was all his own fault at the end of the day. Still, he softly chuckled and dipped low into the water just as the protecting bubble surrounded the boat, right before it sped off, and Harry hurried the other way towards Atlantis.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

Atlantis was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places in all of the oceans. The legends weren’t all false. It really _was_ a city that was frankly bigger than all the palaces. All architecture pieces glowed and there was never someone sleeping. Atlantis was a city of light, full of endless possibilities, every type of new and forthcoming merfolk and fish trends were sold here be it for tails or tops. There were jewelry pieces unlike any other, hair and scale changes that could only be attained here, and it was a perfect spot for international cooperation and discussions. 

Famous merfolk were always out and about here and every type of water event was held every single day. Merfolk could stay here for vacation in the most exquisite large bivalve beds, seaweed beds, or had underwater caves and grottos that were priced with megalodon teeth per night. Other extravagant foods from all around the oceans were obtained here in places merfolk could arrange them perfectly or add specific plants or other foods together to make the flavor spark with uniqueness. 

Atlantis was _everything_. Dreams came true here.

Harry had _one_ goal. He didn’t have time to roam around and explore Atlantis. He didn’t even have MT’s on him right now to _buy_ anything. Yes, for once, the soon-to-be-king of the Atlantic was poor. It didn’t matter. He had to find the Nautical Mage.

The Nautical Mage was a witch who was said to have been a mermaid born in the abyss. There was a legend that she had attained several necessary traits from creatures down there and could attain others if need be. It was also said she was a shapeshifter. Many have said she was as beautiful as a siren and those have speculated she must’ve been _part_ siren. Many have also said she wasn’t a mermaid at all but part cecaelian even though they’d been an extinct species for centuries (except, there’s been word that the Nautical Mage has been in the ocean since the dawn of days). Some say she looked gruesome with green, reptilian skin, black eyes, wild hair and had large, ray finned ears.

There were a lot of myths about the Nautical Mage.

Harry used the compass to find her. It led him into a very deep undersea cave that wasn’t occupied. It was more vacant. There _was_ one cave that was said to be haunted in Atlantis. Harry had a feeling this one was it. He swam along, following the arrow of the compass until he came up through a rocky tunnel. It was short, but led him to a new area. It seemed to still be a cave, but as he headed _up,_ he broke air and was greeted with a cave without water aside from what was _now_ the pool he was in.

“Good, you’ve showed up.” 

He turned around in the new cave, trying to find the source of the voice. Nothing could be seen from the outskirts of where the light came in from above—a small opening to the sky, Harry supposed, which reminded him a bit of his grotto. “Sorry? I—I’m not sure where you exactly are.” He admitted with a sigh as he reached into his satchel to put the compass away.

From the shadows of the cave, he saw octopus arms crawling on the floor towards the light. The green, reptilian skin, dark eyes, and ray finned ears weren’t exaggerations. Harry did his best to keep a straight face as she came forward. “Your Grace.” She spoke, her voice gentle and certainly kind. “You took a little longer than expected. Although, there have been princes—and some princesses—that have taken a lot longer still.” Before Harry could look down in shame, away from her dark eyes, she gave him a smile. “You still did very good, Harry Styles.”

Harry shrugged shyly as she stopped at the edge of the cave’s pool, peering down at him. “Thank you.”

“I’m sure many merpeople want to return to their homes throughout the kingdom, though, hmm?” Her warm smile—as horrifying as it was—eased Harry a little, making _him_ smile back. He nodded and she motioned for him to come up. Harry swam over to the edge of the pool beside her eight octopus arms and pulled himself up to sit on it. “I know you’ve got legs, don’t be shy.” Harry’s head snapped up to look up at her, his eyes wide, and he started to stammer immediately. The Nautical Mage only laughed. “I also know you weren’t alone. And I don’t just mean the… what were they called a group? The ‘Voyage Crew’, I think it was?”

Harry didn't know what to say. He should’ve known the oldest creature ever with so much power would know just about everything. “… Yes… yes that’s what we called them…”

“I hope the human’s doing good.” She added sincerely. Harry smiled to himself. “Now, have you brought the jewels with you _and_ the five bottles?” She asked.

Harry nodded eagerly. “Yes, I’ve brought everything.” So _this_ was what the five liquid bottles were for.

“And your scepter?”

“Of course.”

“Throw them all into the pool. Careful with your tail.” Harry blinked at her but did as she said. He first uncapped all of the small bottles and poured each liquid into the pool once he pulled his tail up. Every time he poured one of the small liquids in, colorful clouds of smoke filled it up all the way in the water. “Now the gemstones.” Harry did that, too, dropping them all in one by one. With the larger ones, he expected to hear a loud _clunk_ if it hit the bottom, but no such sound came from the water. They all sunk away, and the smokey water made it impossible for him to see into it. “And now the scepter.”

The moment he dropped that into the pool of water, the brim of it glowed a soft white. “That’s not all, right?” He asked, receiving a kind laugh. 

“No, of course not. But I do need your help now. I’ll need you to concentrate as much as you can. Focus. Your oceanic abilities will be needed to call forth your scepter now without even touching it, without even touching the water to go seek it. No compass, either.” She extended a rough skinned arm in front of her towards the pool and tiny particles floated up towards the air, ascending up to the small opening at the top. 

The Nautical Mage started to chant quietly but clearly, and Harry sucked in a deep breath before letting it out. Right, concentrate. Was he just supposed to find it by nothing but his inner strength? Harry supposed so, and wished it didn’t sound so impossible for him without the compass. He had to keep positive, had to have faith in _himself_. Everything had gone so smoothly during the entire quest. This he could do. This he _will_ do. Smiling to himself, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the power he _did_ have to surge up within him, filling him up like warm light. _Find the scepter on my own._ He could do that.

When he opened his eyes, his own tail was glowing steadily from the tip of his fin and up. It was strange, too, since usually it just glowed when he was feeling some strong emotion. Harry ignored it and held out a hand in front of him, fingers open. He did his best to focus all of his energy within himself, feeling it strengthen every few moments, swelling up in his chest and expanding out. He could do this. He _was_ doing this, even as he hugged his tail to his chest and felt his stretched out hand growing warm. He also felt his skin on his torso growing warm, like that light was being drawn onto it.

In the middle of the pool, something was coming up slow and steady with the most magnificent light coming from its top. Harry could tell it was the scepter. The Nautical Mage chanted even louder and Harry smiled at the sight of it. He barely curled his fingers inward towards his palm, as if beckoning it to come forward to him, and the scepter shot right into his hand. The gemstones had come together into a perfect shape to clasp right in the empty hole of the scepter at the top. This was the orichalcum gem.

His happiness and quiet proudness over himself was short lived due to feeling white hot pain against the back of his neck until it was gone as quickly as it had come. He hissed, reaching a hand up to clamp against the the nape of his neck. He exhaled slowly, hugging the scepter to his chest as the light all around them dimmed down. “What happened?” Harry asked, peering up at the Mage.

“You’ve been marked as a king. That’s all.” Harry’s eyes widened. “Usually they’re more done on the tail but sometimes, the mark appears elsewhere. Look into the water and give me your mirror. Pull your hair away from your back, too, of course.” He didn’t even notice that the pool had gone back to its transparent self, blue and peering into the cave underneath that led off into a small tunnel. Harry reached into his satchel to hand her the mirror and peered down into the water with his free hand bunching his curls up away from his back. He saw the lightest reflection of her holding the mirror behind him, but _there it was._

It was something that looked like a tattoo, really. It was a trident. Harry did remember seeing his father with a set of scales on his tail that differed from the rest in this shape on his side. “Oh. Erm, okay.” he smiled at his reflection before the Mage pulled the mirror away. He let his hair fall back and she handed the mirror to him. “Thank you. Erm, don’t I—I need to hide the kingdom again, don’t I?”

“It’s already been done. The moment those gems combined and your ultimate power was unveiled, the kingdom was safe once more. You’ll find you can do… just about anything with that scepter. Use it wisely. It has _great_ power.” She warned. “And it’ll only work if you mean what you want it to do. Understand?” Harry nodded quietly, his mind taking heed to her warnings and yet also was stuck on, _it’s over. It’s over. It’s over._

“Thank you. Again.” He said, giving her a shy smile before he slipped back into the pool of water. “Have a good day.” He told her, but heard her say something else, so he lifted his head up to look at her. “Sorry?”

“That purple sunrise doesn’t lie, Harry Styles.” Harry gulped. “It _does_ bring merpeople what they want. Their hopes, dreams, ideas, destiny…” and true love, but she didn’t have to say that. “But that’s all the myth says. You don’t tell anyone it’s _fact_ , but the purple sunrise is a gift to those who have the courage to seek it. But _that’s all the myth says._ ” But that was all the myth said. Harry didn’t know if he should feel better or worse about that. He nodded sadly and sunk away into the water to head back from where he had come from. 

Harry didn’t know what to think of that. What did that mean? Did that mean not now, but later? Did that mean Louis might not actually be his true love—

No. Harry paused in his swimming. He reached within himself, feeling it all and was far too sure it wasn’t _that_. He may not be in _love_ with Louis, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care about him a lot. They _have_ only ever been face to face with each other for a week despite their penpal-ing system. Harry didn’t feel upset in admitting that to himself. There _was_ no little voice telling him he was wrong. He wasn’t in love with Louis, but he did care. A lot. Maybe he was still sort of infatuated with him, even. It sure would make sense what with the fact that he still _hadn’t told Louis he was betrothed._

As he swam through Atlantis, he couldn’t help thinking that what the Nautical Mage said just wasn’t about Louis. She only confirmed that in the end, everything will play out how it’s supposed to and he will be _happy_.

Harry wished that was something he could easily accept and move along how he was supposed to, but the fact remained that he cared about Louis and it wasn’t fair that he wasn’t given a _chance_ with him. Not really.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

The week was long.

The very first thing that happened was that Aeron Averosi and her father had come to visit the palace. There was no _doubt_ she was a siren. With large, beautiful eyes, raven hair, and a perfect figure, she would be anyone’s dream. Sirens, though, had different tails than merfolk. Theirs were longer and didn’t differentiate in color and scales. Siren tails were ridiculously long and as reptilian as the Nautical Mage’s skin. Their tails were also a deep blue that they were almost black and they had ragged, sharp caudal fins that looked more like ominous knives. Sirens also had a dorsal fin like sharks, jagged and pointing against the top of the back of their tails.

They had dinner and small talked and it was annoying to Harry. He was back to _this_. He was back to laughing richly, politely, offering this and that (“Would you like more kelp dressing on your lobster or worms?” which, thankfully, their richer foods were dead before snagged for their eating), asking questions he genuinely did _not_ care about knowing and following up with all those questions. He was back to having his mother eye him expectantly when he didn’t pay so much attention to Aeron next to him, back to turning to face her better and was upset because she was actually a very lovely person.

“Where’ve you gone about in the Mediterranean?” She had asked him.

“Just about everywhere at one point or another except… for around Capri.” Harry gave her his best apologetic smile and decided to return the question. “Was it nice to finally leave your home for the first time?” He asked, seeing as all Sirens living around Capri were _exiled_ there.

She smiled and nodded happily. “Yes, yes, I was so happy. I couldn’t stop looking at everything I saw.Everything’s gorgeous.” He hated that. He hated that because it sounded like Louis, so Harry smiled and filled his mouth with food so he didn’t have to talk until he swallowed.

He hated that she liked the same undersea musicians as him. He hated that she could sing so lovely—was thankful he was immune to her lures. All merfolk were—and everyone clapped because merpeople didn’t _sing_. Harry still preferred Louis’ really, because it wasn’t laced with something that led people to their deaths and was _Louis’_. He hated that she was polite and offered help. He hated playing up every bit of his charm when his mother pulled him aside and told him to do so. Harry had to pretend she was Louis so he could actually _pretend_ a little better. He hated going on swims with her and waving at commoners who now felt safe and greeted them with titles and bows. He hated some of those commoners when they congratulated him on the betrothal and couldn’t wait for the wedding (“Word on the tide says you’re gonna be hitched to this angelfish.” Frank the sea turtle said, which prompted Oscar the flounder to rise up and circle around until he laid one of his side eyes on Aeron and blubbered.)

He hated kissing her. Kissing her in public, even. He would always have to kiss her now. It probably wouldn’t be a problem if he didn’t feel so upset that it just wasn’t Louis. He felt absolutely nothing with her—and yet, if he wasn’t so bitter, he was sure he could learn to like her more. Oh, and Louis didn’t know he was engaged _yet_. **_Still._**

Unfortunately, he couldn’t leave until the week had passed. Aside form Aeron, he was also preparing for his coronation at the end of the week. The crown was golden and had tiny seashells, natural pearls, and tiny precious jewels and gems against it. He was preparing for the swim and the sitting on the throne. That would all be something very exciting had it not been for his mother’s newest bit of news.

“Harry, dear,” she had said on the morning of his coronation. 

Harry was grooming while other merfolk were tending to his caudal fin and others were deciding on different looks for the scales of his tail all together. These people had come straight from Atlantis for him. He didn’t particularly want any changes on his tail. His caudal fin was pretty enough, frilly and large like a betta fish’s. The colors were a majority of green with a tiny bits of blue, yellow and purple speckles here and there. He still had his bracelet on from being bound by the oath of his quest and was sure he was always going to have that on. Still, he was presented extravagant rings and metal arm cuffs to wear. He was granted new seashell earrings that tiny crustaceans still lived in. They hugged around the lobe of his ear all snug. It tickled a little, sure, but it was all fine.

“Yes?” Harry asked, visibly overwhelmed by everyone in his room, and none of them were either Niall or Liam or Gemma. It was off putting. 

“We’ve been thinking, dear, that it would be best to keep Simon as your Hand for a little while. And keep Benjamin the seahorse as your Master of Whisperers still.” Harry’s head jerked up from telling a merman of Atlantis that yes, he did like the small jeweled addition that dropped around his caudal fin. Harry moved it easily and it chimed lightly with every swish. He asked for a quieter one before his mother had said _that_.

“Why? I told you, I’m going to appoint Liam as Hand because I trust him. And Niall as Master of Whisperers because Benjamin’s getting sort of old and Niall’s unbelievably intelligent.” He sighed. “Mum, please, I had a _plan_.”

“That’s all right, love, but see, they’re not so experienced in both of those. So for now we think it’s best if… for the time being until they both can get a better grasp at how being Hand and Master of Whisperers work, that you just stick with your father’s Small Council. Yes?” Harry stared at her. “Please, Harry? I just want the start of your reign to go smoothly.” He supposed she was right in a sense. Harry just… he just didn’t _want_ father’s Small Council.

But all he could do was nod bitterly. “Sure. Fine.”

It is what it is, right?

It wasn’t anything special. The coronation happened. They said his name with every title imaginable, “All hail His Majesty Harry Edward of Houses Styles and Cox, First of His Name, King of the Atlantic and the Marine, Lord of the Seven Seas, and Protector of the Waters.” and Harry could hear so many people chanting _long live the king._ It only made his heart sink into his stomach and dissolve from the acid, as dramatic as that sounded. Of course, on the outside, he was horrifyingly stoic. Not a smile on his face, staring at nothing, because he was king now and that was _it_.

Aeron Averosi left to head back to the waters that bordered Capri, but they discussed when she and Harry would get married.

“How was it with you two this week?” The Small Council asked, but by Simon Cowell himself. 

Harry was truthful. “It was… fine. It was good, we get along. She’s beautiful. It’s all right, she’s a great person.” _But she’s not Louis_. 

“Then we can set a date for your wedding.” Aeron’s father said—a guest in the Council today. Harry wished his mother or sister was here with him, but Gemma was still a princess and not allowed, and his mother was no longer needed to speak on behalf of Harry, dubbed down from Queen Regent to simply Queen Mother until Aeron took that title for herself. Unneeded. 

“Sure.” Simon spoke before Harry could even say anything. “I think it best this winter when we’re all in the southern waters.”

Harry opened his mouth to speak, wanting to say he’d at least like to get to know Aeron a little _more_ before deciding on a date—especially one that was so soon—but her father answered Simon far too quickly.

“That’s perfect. Sirens will be willing to migrate for the wedding, too.” 

“How about when the New Year comes along?”

“How about _on_ the New Year?”

Harry wanted to die. His future was being decided for him and he couldn’t get a damn word out. He tried to keep his head steady—this was one of his father’s dying wishes. _Peace with sirens, peace with sirens, peace with sirens._ He could sacrifice his happiness for that. Their voices drowned out as he stayed on the thought that he was _really_ going to get married now. In a matter of _months_ , too, no less. He could hear Simon calling his name for attention and asking if the first of January was all right with him. Harry wanted to shout _NO!_ , but he looked over and forced a smile before nodding.

“Yes, that’s fine.”

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

**L**

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

Louis and Zayn had talked about Liam and the scale he acquired. He’d promised Harry he wouldn’t tell Zayn about him, and he didn’t. He didn’t know how to explain why Louis was so calm about this bizarre news. Louis just kept telling him he believed him and then shoved Abby in his face to distract him. “She’s in a good mood, pet her for me, yeah?” He’d said, and Zayn simply couldn’t resist something like that. Louis then gave him the option to “Wish on it already.” or to “Keep it when you need it, like you’re starving and can’t get food.”

It was now the tenth of September. Things were definitely slowing down. The summer vibe was leaving and autumn was on the way to replacing it. Louis fussed with his old, old boss, Carl all the time. Carl always wanted to keep busy, but Louis and his other friends were _always_ working on the beach for his sake. They could always handle it. They _were_ handling it. Someone always walked Carl home when he agreed to let them be. Today, it was Louis.

He stepped down Carl’s stoop stairs outside of his door after he made sure Carl had food and was comfortable before sprinting back to the beach. He had half a mind to go visit mum and the girls today after he was done tonight, and he smiled at the thought, thinking it was definitely a perfect way to end the day. That was a great plan until he remembered tonight was the end-of-summer beach party that had music, dancing, drinks, a bonfire, and fun.

He was definitely staying.

It was some bit before the sun set. Music could already be heard—Maroon 5’s _Payphone_ , which Louis regrettably knew the words to—and people were already coming down the beach to dance and jump in the water. It was a bit chilly, but not as cold as it would be in a few months time. Louis hurried to head to his friends that were trying to get the bonfire to work, helping them out. By that time, the sky was a on the verge of becoming colorful, and that meant that the party _really_ started.

At some point, Zayn showed up and found Louis sitting in front of the fire. “Guess who’s here, mate!” Zayn shouted. Louis turned around to look and saw none other than his other very best friend, Eleanor. His eyes widened and he laughed, quickly getting to his feet to hug her—then hug Zayn, because why not?—and they were in the stupidest possible group hug.

“What are you doing here?” Louis asked, beaming.

“I’ve just come to visit! Wanted to see family for a bit before the summer officially ended. How are you?” She asked. Louis was so happy. Nothing could ruin this now. It was the best way for the summer to come to a close. He could think about finding another job a little later. Right now, it was time for genuine fun.

He looked around for a moment, his eyes sliding over dancing and laughing bodies, someone singing on a stage with a band, people eating at the small restaurant nearby, and it was all simply _perfect_. His eyes skimmed back over to a familiar area when he thought he saw _someone_. His eyes immediately lit up at the familiar curly hair and long limbs sitting on the rocky pathway. Louis quickly excused himself for a moment—quickly told Eleanor she had to tell him _everything_ she’d been up to since she’d been gone—and quickly sprinted over to Harry.

Stepping up onto the rocky pathway, Louis carefully walked across it over to Harry. He stepped around him so he could sit right in front of him. He carefully lowered himself in front of Harry, who smiled at the sight of him. “Hi.” Louis whispered, his eyes alight with seeing Harry, being in front of Harry, whose legs were criss-crossed together. Louis sat the same, their knees touching, and he quickly gave him a kiss to go along with his greeting. He pulled back a little so he could see him again.

“Hi.” Harry replied. He smiled timidly at Louis before turning around to see everyone on the beach having fun. “Louis, what’s… what is this?” He asked, his eyes wide. “What’s _that_? Is that a volcano?” He questioned, pointing to the bonfire.

Louis only laughed politely. “It’s a bit of a party to celebrate the end of summer days. And that’s a fire. A bonfire, specifically.”

He could see the reflection of the red and orange light of the fire dancing in Harry’s eyes even from where they were. Harry seemed captivated. “It hurts, right? If you touch it?”

“Definitely, yeah.” Louis grimaced. “Don’t want to be doing that, but it warms you up and… and it’s nice. Especially with people around it like that and there’s music and stuff.” Someone was singing _Something Left to Give_ by The Starting Line and Louis hummed it a little. “Do you want to join us? I’ll actually get up and dance if you come with me.” He sang. It made Harry laugh for a moment. “And my friend Eleanor’s here. Can you believe it?”

“Can’t. Can’t stay too long. I didn’t…” Harry sighed, looking at Louis with saddened eyes. 

“Are you okay?” Louis asked immediately, his eyebrows creasing with worry.

“I’ve been coronated. I’m king now. Everything’s okay now.” He hummed and held a finger out for Louis. “Hang on, I’ve got… I’ve got something for you.” Louis nodded and looked behind him out to the horizon. He could see the sky bleeding warm colors again as the sun lowered to disappear.

He looked back a Harry and chanced a small grin, feeling the energy that radiated from Harry being completely off for once, shifting in a way that was impossible to ignore. It wasn’t like all the other times he’d been with him. Something was wrong. He _did_ notice Harry didn’t exactly answer his question, too. Louis wasn’t going to let Harry do this again. He wasn’t going to keep how he was feeling from Louis again in _person_. They were past that. They could talk to each other about all the important and not-as-important things.

Harry had his satchel and handed it to Louis. “It’s all in there.”

Frowning, Louis took it and peeked inside. He frowned even more as he picked up—

“Megalodon Teeth? _Fossils_?” Louis asked, staring at a rare looking fossilized shell. “Are you… what is this? Are you _paying_ me?”

Harry shook his head. “Yes and no. I just—humans tend to try to get those a lot so I just… maybe they’re valuable here and we have… we actually have a lot, believe it or not. Impossible to run out.” Louis was surprised by this fact. “So, there’s a few in there. I don’t know. They’re worth a lot in our world, but… maybe they could be worth more for you here.”

He peered up to look at Harry. “You’re paying me.” He didn’t think it was possible to feel the change in atmosphere between them worsen. Louis didn’t like that Harry had paid him like this and Harry wasn’t smiling. If anything, it looked like the light in Harry’s eyes had completely gone out. Louis was worried. He quirked his eyebrows sadly at him. “Harry, what’s wrong?”

Harry turned carefully, away from Louis so he was facing the side of the rocky pathway. Louis did the same. He wanted to hug him and kiss him and soothe him somehow, wished Harry would be straight with him and tell him what was the _matter_ , and then Louis could do his best to right all the wrongs that were obviously causing him some sort of turmoil. It was written all over Harry’s face. Something had completely died inside of him. Maybe this was about his dad. Maybe he found out what _exactly_ happened to him and it was worse than he’d ever imagined. Louis carefully leaned his side into Harry to rest his head on his shoulder. Harry didn’t budge. He didn’t do _anything_.

If it was possible, that uneasiness between them had made its way into his gut, twisting uncomfortably, making him dread _something_. Louis didn’t like the feeling. He wished it would go away, wished they could go find Kelly at the ice cream stand and get a few sea salt popsicles and sit here happily with soft, fond expressions, with the sky being the limit. He wished Harry would be up for dancing and maybe enjoying a roasted marshmallow. It didn’t add up that he wasn’t. What was he doing here if Harry wasn’t up for this sort of thing? Harry… Harry would be _jumping_ to do just about everything that was happening here. It didn’t make sense.

But then, the silence was broken.

This was one set of wishes that couldn’t be granted. He felt Harry suck in a deep breath, like he was preparing himself for something, and when he breathed out, he said something that made Louis go completely rigid with disbelief, like he’d been punched hard in the face, like every drop of hope he’d had from taking a chance was cracking slowly, but sharply with every second that passed, cracking with every bit more of those words settling in to register until it completely shattered into a million pieces.

“I’m engaged to a siren and we’re getting married the first of January. I can’t be with you.”

Louis was _really_ about to cry now. He could feel his own face grow heavy, but he didn’t because once those words were registered, he pulled away from Harry and stared at him. Harry wasn’t even looking at him. He was just staring down at the water and it angered Louis.

“No… no, you said you were free to, like, be with whoever you wanted to. I don’t understand… when did this happen? Why?”

Harry didn’t answer.

“Did it happen when you got back?”

No answer. Louis could feel his heart being grabbed by an unforgiving hand and squished until it was dust.

“Harry, how long have you known?” He asked, his voice quick and accusing. He saw Harry close his eyes. He didn’t answer again, but that was enough of an answer for Louis. He blinked, his face shifting from soft anger, from worry, from confusion, from disbelief, to complete infuriation to hide every bit of how much something in him was being destroyed again and again. 

“Louis, I’m so sorry.” Harry whispered, his voice as fragile as Louis felt. Of course, Louis was putting up the walls again. He couldn’t believe this truth, couldn’t believe Harry had known since before they saw each other again after _three months_ and didn’t tell him until Louis cared. Cared so much it hurt. Cared so much he was genuinely willing to start living at the beach and fuck off from society. Harry looked at him and Louis was shocked to see he was crying quietly. “I’m going to stay human.”

“Don’t be fucking stupid.” Louis snapped, glaring him down, his unforgiving, piercing eyes holding something he was sure Harry and never seen before. “You’ve got the responsibility of an entire ocean. Don’t be _stupid_.”

“Louis, please, _no_.” Harry said, turning to face him again. Some part of Louis wanted to wipe his tears away, but a much more dominant part didn’t want to look at him right now. He stared at Harry, completely livid. “I’m… Louis, _don’t_.” Harry begged. “Look, look, I—I’ll give up _everything_.” Louis’ expression didn’t change. “I don’t give a shit about my title, I don’t—I don’t, please. I just don’t. I love the human world, I hate hurting you. I’d rather be here, and be with you. I don’t _want_ to marry this person, I really don’t.“

“What were you thinking?” Louis asked incredulously, unable to wrap his head around how Harry could think elongating this truth until it was too late would at all be beneficial for the two of them. Maybe they were unhealthy from the get-go and they just didn’t notice. Maybe it was all just infatuation. Maybe it was all just a fantasy.

Harry bit his lip. “That… that… I just… wanted to be with you while we could. I didn’t know it was… I didn’t know you would end up meaning so much to me like _that_ , that you and I just holding each other and… and all of that and everything—I didn’t know it was going to feel like that, like I couldn’t stop—“

Louis scoffed. He didn’t want to hear it. “Give it a rest, Harry. You were selfish.” Harry clamped his mouth shut quickly. “Never do this to the people you rule. Never build them up with hope you cannot bring them. Never crush them like this after they’ve trusted you. _Ever_.” 

Harry wiped at his eyes. “But I just… I just—I wanted to be selfish with you, I don’t know… I knew—so much of what I’d done was so irresponsible and what I regret is hurting _you_ , Lou—“

“I trusted you.” Louis said, his voice dangerously calm and his eyes furrowing as he remembered that he _did_ trust Harry. He believed everything, had so much hope just because of him for whatever lied ahead. “Built me up and put me down, are you fucking serious?” He asked with a hiss of a whisper. He closed his mouth and clenched his jaw. “No, I’m not going to fucking ask you to do that. Any of it. Because I bet you a lot of merfolk trust you right now to take care of them and their home. And you fucking off to the human world because _they won’t be able to touch you?_ That’s shitty. Take responsibility, Harry.” Louis muttered, standing up and walking around him.

He could hear Harry getting to his feet and Louis wanted to break down. It was stupid, too, because it wasn’t like they were _together_ or anything. Most of their friendship was from three long months of letters exchanged between them. Then, there was just a week of them actually seeing each other face to face. Louis felt fucking moronic to have somehow built something up in his head that didn’t exactly _consist_ of anything other than hope, trust, and every other possibility coming together, like nothing could stop them if they decided they wanted to be together.

“Louis don’t go, don’t—“

Louis spun around, making Harry stop in his steps. He bit his lip, feeling so _destroyed_ from such positivity. “‘Take a chance’, I did that. I did that. On you. On so much. Took a chance to kiss you like that because you sang _to me_ like that. I trusted every bit of you but honestly, I should’ve known something was up when I almost _died_ —“

“I didn’t know—“

“No.” Louis said, cutting him off, looking at him like he couldn’t believe Harry had had the audacity to build him up like _that_. It took months. It did, to make him that content and feeling so very happy-go-lucky about whatever came to him, especially after feeling like his very life was the epitome of mundane. Harry was killing him. He was _killing_ him. “You didn’t know. But I did. You said I’d be safe. But what you did know was that you’re fucking _engaged_ —did you lie in the summer?” He asked accusingly. “All that stuff about the suitors and all that and then being free to, y’know, marry whoever the fuck you wanted, was that a complete lie to just feed me a _grain_ of hope we _could_ be together—except no, because…” Harry was looking at him with such an apologetic, regretful expression, but Louis was angry. “No, you’re a fucking fish who has all these royal responsibilities so it was _never_ going to happen.”

Harry jumped a little at being called a fish. Louis had said it like it was poison in his mouth, his tone harsh and cutting mercilessly, his icy eyes alight with rage to top it all off. The thing is that he wanted to take that back _immediately_ , but he was so angry he didn’t want to apologize for any of this. “I’m so… I’m so sorry, Louis, please…” Harry swallowed hard. “Please, I can’t lose you, I can’t, I’m just so sorry but you mean so much.” He shook his head because Louis didn’t break. Louis didn’t soften. Louis’ cheekbones could _really_ cut the air, cut Harry, as Louis sucked them in and twisted his mouth. He huffed out through his nose, shaking his head at Harry.

“Okay.” Louis said, nodding, but it was so calm. It was such a dangerous thing, to seem leveled when he was angry. “Alright. I’ve got people to hang out with.” He said, walking off.

“Lou,” He heard, felt fingers brush against his wrist, and Louis pulled back as if disgusted—and he was, really. He turned around and thought, _no_. Louis couldn’t have him around. Couldn’t speak to him. He didn’t want that, _couldn’t_ want that… not anymore. Not after this, because Louis still cared. He wanted to punch Harry square in the face for it all, wanted to avidly despise him for this, but it was all just _hurt_ , and it was crushing him agonizingly slow.

So Louis pushed him as hard as he could. Harry quickly lost balance and fell into the water. Louis’ face was stone as he stared down, seeing the tiny glow before his legs disappeared, but his tail still lit up. He quickly glanced up to see if anyone was watching because, well, Louis wanted to prove a point in the worst way. No one was. Everyone was having fun.

“There are _humans_ ,” Louis said when Harry’s head came up. “on this side of the beach.”

“Why would you… Lou—”

“Why would _you_?!” He shouted. “You’re like every possible negative mermaid tale I’ve heard. Seducing until they crush the human. Or kill. I think that’s sirens. Seducing until they drown them. You did drown me.” Louis scoffed.

“Stop, I didn’t mean… I didn’t mean _any_ of this to happen, Louis, I didn’t. Everything was real and true except for _this_.” Harry reached up a hand and Louis took a step back carefully. “Please, please, how can I fix this?”

Louis did break, but only for a moment. He let out a breathy sob before shaking his head, carelessness feigned on his face once more. “You fucking can’t. It’s done. We—whatever we were. Friends, whatever—it's done.” It felt like these words weren’t his own. It was all a defensive mechanism from _this_. All of it. Even his composure, even his attitude. It was all to protect himself. Louis never really _did_ have the best of luck with men, anyway. There was no surprise that Harry was simply no different, but was definitely the worst one, because no other guy made him feel like he could fly.

So, Louis started walking off.

Harry whined softly. “No, don’t go.” He whispered, but it was so sincere, like Louis leaving him was the worst thing that would happen to him. 

Louis paused, looking over his shoulder, and the anger left his face. It was now just filled with sadness, disappointment, like his heart had been hollowed from everything good. “Don’t let the fish hooks poke your eye out.” He told him before walking off again. He could hear Harry _pleading_ as he called his name out. _Lou, Louis, Louis!_ and it took so much restraint to not run back over and pull him up into his arms and talk about how they could make it all work out.

If he _did_ do that, it would’ve been false hope. It was all false hope. The reality was that Harry had known he was engaged and they grew closer and closer and closer until their feelings for one another skyrocketed and it was so much. But what was Louis _thinking_? Harry was a merman and there was no way they could’ve made it work even if Harry wasn’t getting married. But he was, and they couldn’t work together anyway. It was best like this and Louis had to start healing from this pain immediately.

Louis turned around when he got to the bonfire, hearing someone covering _It Is What it Is_ by Lifehouse. He eyed the spot where Harry was in the water, seeing Harry’s head dip into it and his tail flip out, then back in as he disappeared.

It would be best if they never saw one another again. They simply weren’t meant to be in each other’s worlds. Louis knew that now. He couldn’t care. He wouldn’t care soon enough. He just had to busy himself a lot and find a new job for the winter and get pissed off his arse and forget Harry. He had to forget this pain. He had to forget it all.

Louis forced a smile as he got back to Zayn and Eleanor. “Oi! I’m back. Either of you want drinks? I can go get ‘em.” He asked. The two of them nodded as Stan, Erica, Pauly, and Olivia interrupted to say they wanted some drinks, too. This was easy. It was easy to fall in and laugh as fake as he could and remember these were his friends he had grown up with and could trust. It was going to be fine as long as he just kept here, kept near his family, kept with his _cat_ even.

He’d be fine. He had to be. This was his world and he would simply be _fine_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sad! I hated writing this. I'll try to get the next installment up once I start writing because this is the worst way to end something, especially with these two.
> 
> I still hope you guys liked this regardless of its ending! I hope some of you or most of you or all of you will stick around to find out what happens in the next installment because that one's going to be equally unbelievable.
> 
> As always I love hearing what you guys thought in comments and appreciate kudos, and I hope all of you darlings have a really lovely day!

**Author's Note:**

> Sad! I'll be posting the other chapters as I write them, and they're only three after this one! They'll be long ones, too and, like I mentioned, it's actually a very action packed adventure. I do appreciate comments and kudos as always if it pleases you to leave them for me. Thanks for looking!


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